Ligue 1 confirm the collapse of £2.75bn TV deal with Mediapro that will impact the finances of clubs in France’s top two football divisions… even though Canal+ are set to come in with less lucrative deal
- French football have confirmed the end of their £2.75bn TV deal with Mediapro
- The Spanish TV company have ended their four-year deal after five months
- Canal+ are set to offer around £365m less than what Mediapro were paying
- The news is a blow to the Ligue 1 and 2 clubs already facing financial turmoil
- Premier League clubs could raid France’s top two divisions and their clubs
French football authorities have confirmed the end of the £2.75billion TV deal with Spanish company Mediapro in a blow to the country’s top clubs.
The LFP released a statement that the broadcasting company had pulled the plug on the contract just five months into the four-year deal until 2024 and will pay just a portion what is owes to the league after skipping two payments since October.
Canal+ are ready to step in and make an offer to broadcast matches from France’s top two divisions, but the deal is around £365million less each season than the fee Mediapro were paying, which is around £710m-a-season.
French football authorities have confirmed the end of their £2.75billion TV deal with Mediapro
The Spanish TV company has abandoned its four-year deal with the LFP after just five months
The Canal+ offer is subject to approval from the French commercial court, while Mediapro channel Telefoot will continue broadcasting matches from Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 until January.
The LFP statement read: ‘The LFP regains full enjoyment of the rights previously held by Mediapro Sport France.
‘The LFP will now turn to the audiovisual rights market to find a favorable outcome allowing the full broadcast of Ligue 1 Uber Eats and Ligue 2 BKT over the 2020/2024 cycle.’
The move is a contradiction by Mediapro president Jaume Roures, who claimed back in April that the TV company intended to respect its broadcasting commitments despite the global pandemic.
Telefoot will show Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 games until January, with Canal+ poised to make an offer
Roures told L’Equipe: ‘We have the means to hold them (the commitments), otherwise I would not come to answer your questions. I am not saying there is no impact, but we are still respecting our contracts.
‘You will not be able to find someone who says that we have not respected our commitments.’
The prospective new deal with Vivendi-owned Canal+ means clubs in France’s top two divisions will receive a smaller amount of money from TV deals, plunging the majority of the elite clubs into financial meltdown.
The cancellation of the deal is a blow to Ligue 1 clubs who are already in financial meltdown
Most professional clubs in France are suffering from money issues due to the coronavirus pandemic, with matchday income down due to games being played behind closed doors and the back end of last season cancelled with the leagues declared null and void.
As Sportsmail revealed last week, mega-rich French champions Paris Saint-Germain are not expected to be massively affected due to the financial backing of their Qatari owners.
Should the majority of French clubs face money issues due to the latest developments in the country’s TV football deal, it could mean Premier League clubs may be able to raid Ligue 1 clubs for cheaper-than-usual players.