The threat of the black screen lifted on Wednesday with the announcement of an agreement to co-broadcast the Women’s World Cup in France, on France Télévisions and the M6 group, just over a month from the coup. start of the event, in Australia and New Zealand (July 20 – August 20). The two audiovisual groups take over from TF1 and Canal +, broadcasters of the 2019 World Cup at home, after an extended sequence of negotiations, hampered by the financial ambitions deemed too high by Fifa, organizer of the tournament.
“France Télévisions is very pleased to announce the acquisition with the M6 group of the broadcasting rights for the 2023 FIFA World Cup and the matches of the French women’s football team until 2027”, announced the public television group in a press release.
Clear in 34 European countries
At the same time, Fifa announced that the competition would be visible in the clear in 34 countries in Europe, including Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom, the four other major European countries in women’s football. over which the threat of a blackout hovered, as in France. The battle for television rights raged for several months between Gianni Infantino’s Fifa, determined not to sell off its flagship women’s competition, and European broadcasters, cooled by the sums requested, far too high according to them.
At the beginning of May, the Italian leader spoke out vigorously against the offers from broadcasters, particularly European ones, deemed “still very disappointing and quite simply unacceptable”. However, he continued, “we have a moral and legal obligation not to underestimate the value of the Women’s World Cup”.
Jet lag and late competition
In the middle, several players had expressed regret, even incomprehension, as the soap opera stretched. “It’s Fifa’s business. It’s the best person to talk about it. I’ve heard the president say a lot that it’s not financially enough. But is it really always a question of ‘money?
Several calls for tenders had failed, so great was the gap between the two camps. Fifa, summed up a potential broadcaster, interviewed by AFP, “ask a lot of money for something that will not get a lot of audience”. This lack of enthusiasm was above all due to the geographical area of the competition, organized for the first time in Oceania, and therefore to the time difference which cooled European broadcasters. For example, the second and third matches of the French team in the group stage will start at noon, while the semi-finals and the final will be scheduled between 10 a.m. and noon Paris time.
The 2027 World Cup included
Another concern for broadcasters: the competition is held in the heart of summer, later than usual, during a low period in terms of advertising revenue. The final of Euro 2022, last summer in England, took place on July 31, three weeks earlier than the final of the World Cup to come. “We have a good product, the finest in women’s sport. Everyone talks about equality, parity. We would like these words to turn into actions,” Fifa Secretary General Fatma Samoura said on 21 May in an interview with AFP.
It will have taken many more weeks to see the situation settle. France Télévisions and the M6 group are taking a further step towards women’s football, having recently acquired the rights to broadcast the French team for the next four seasons (2023-2027). The agreement, announced on June 13, notably includes the new League of Nations, qualifications for Euro 2025 and the 2027 World Cup. Les Bleues by Hervé Renard will also be broadcast by the France Télévisions group during the 2024 Olympic Games, for which they automatically qualify as host country.