Ligue 1 has signed off on a new broadcasting rights deal for the next three years.
The league had been plunged into an economic crisis following the collapse of the previous deal with Spanish broadcasting company MediaPro.
The company had promised to pay €3.25 billion for the broadcasting rights to the French league for four years but pulled out not long after having paid under 10% of what they owed.
Previous owners Canal Plus and beIN SPORTS have both been in talks to repurchase the TV rights, while giants Amazon have also been looking to strike a deal with the LFP.
Today, the LFP chose between two different broadcasting packages, with all three companies securing the rights to French football.
The new deal (Canal Plus, Amazon, BeIN Sports)
- Amazon pay €250m per year for the rights to show eight Ligue 1 games every weekend. On top of this, they pay an extra €9m per year to show eight Ligue 2 games per weekend.
- Canal Plus pay €332m per year to show two Ligue 1 games per weekend. However, they get the first pick from 28 out of 38 matchdays, allowing them to secure the best fixture on most weekends. They get the fourth pick in all 38 matchdays while also getting the third pick ten times.
- beIN SPORTS pay €30m per year for two Ligue 2 matches per weekend, once again getting priority.
- French company Free pay €42m for video-on-demand rights.
- Overall, the deal guarantees €663m per year for the French leagues.
The other option (Canal Plus, BeIN Sports)
- Canal Plus pay €370m for two Ligue 1 matches per week. They get the first and third pick of every matchday.
- beIN SPORTS pay €165m for the other eight matches, as well as up to €78m in bonuses. They also pay €18m per year for all ten Ligue 2 matches.
- Free pay €42m for video-on-demand rights.
- The deal guarantees a minimum of €595m per season and could be worth up to €673m.
Read also: Ligue 1 set for a huge overhaul which will reduce the number of teams to 18.
