After a winding, five-year road that saw record highs and record lows, Ligue 1 has finally found at least a sense of stability. The LFP, the body that governs France’s professional leagues, reached a $546 million deal with DAZN for the league’s domestic TV rights deal. The deal followed months of uncertainty, with several clubs’ financial safety hanging in the mix.
The deal, heavily affected by COVID and complicated by a bearish market for European media rights, represents a significant crossroads not only for Ligue 1 but also for Europe itself. Ligue 1’s deal with DAZN is its lowest in two decades. Will this trend extend to the rest of Europe’s major leagues?
Ligue 1 can trace its epic, league-threatening mess back to 2018 when Spanish company Mediapro made a record $884 million bid for the domestic TV rights to show Ligue 1. Mediapro beat longtime partner Canal+ for the rights. It was a momentous time for French clubs, set to earn $3.5 billion over four seasons.
However, difficulties brought on by COVID, along with Mediapro’s declining subscriber count, weakened the deal’s integrity. Just two seasons into the record-setting deal, Mediapro cut ties with Ligue 1, paying just $295 million as Ligue 1 looked for a new partner.
A weakened Ligue 1 had to fall back towards Amazon, who paid around $280 million to show the rest of the Ligue 1 matches. Ligue 1 hoped for another lucrative deal worth over $850 million but faced a lack of interest and low bids. The LFP canceled their October auction and had to hold individual talks with suitors interested in picking up the rights.
Going into the summer, Ligue 1 clubs faced the difficult choice of accepting DAZN’s deal, half of their valuation from October, or starting their direct-to-customer streaming platform. They decided to accept DAZN’s offer, worth around $436 million. DAZN will broadcast eight of nine Ligue 1 matches each matchday. Amazon, who paid $109 million, will broadcast one marquee matchup each matchday.
The only win for Ligue 1 is they at least have a deal. Only months earlier, it didn’t look like the LFP could even negotiate a fair contract. Longtime partner Canal+ wanted to prepare funds to bid for the Champions League and Premier League, while Amazon, BeIN, and Orange didn’t want to take on Ligue 1’s hefty valuations. With the deal, Ligue 1 clubs no longer face the black hole of immediate bankruptcy.
But, despite the safety of the clubs and the tense saga of the deal finally finishing, there are still more questions than answers.
For France, their inability to garner a high price like their European counterparts shows a declining interest in their league. Their main selling points — Kylian Mbappé, Neymar, and Lionel Messi — are all gone. The league looks the most raw and incomplete it’s been in some time.
Even though PSG looks the weakest it has been since Lille stole the Ligue 1 title under their noses in 2021, they’re still head and shoulders ahead of the rest of the pack. Attendance and interest in Ligue 1 have been declining for some time, and their cut-price deal with DAZN doesn’t help.
Ligue 1’s TV deal will also reflect on the field as well. With funds uncertain, many clubs have taken to the transfer market to make up for losses. Ligue 1 is notably a hotbed of talent, so the top youth talents are being sold en masse.
Leny Yoro recently completed a $67 million transfer to United, while promising talents Khéphren Thuram, Hugo Ekitike, Enzo Le Fée, Mattéo Guendouzi, Thijs Dallinga, and more have all left the league. Most of Ligue 1’s talents not employed by PSG are currently being shopped around the league as well.
The deal is also indicative of Europe’s shifting TV rights climate. Ligue 1 is the second league to suffer the consequences of a botched TV rights deal after Serie A struggled to find a broadcaster last summer. DAZN and Sky announced they would keep their domestic rights to show Serie A for $996 million annually last year. Serie A valued their league some way off at $1.25 billion.
The German Bundesliga has also run into some difficulties during its auction process. DAZN recently filed a legal complaint, alleging they made the most ‘financially attractive’ bid during its May auction.
European leagues are slowly conceding power to broadcasters, who look keener than ever to ensure their investments reach a profitable return. Ligue 1’s squabble with Mediapro and Canal+, along with several other European leagues, shows it.
Meanwhile, the 2024/25 season of Ligue 1 is just over three weeks away, and the French league has still not found a US broadcaster. beIN SPORTS’ deal with Ligue 1 ended at the close of last season. Will the French Ligue 1 find a broadcaster in time for the new season to start?
PHOTOS: IMAGO
