Whistling the end of the 2019-2020 season for professional sports, Prime Minister Edouard Philippe rekindled the thorny question of the bill for television rights. As of Thursday, Canal + sent a letter to the Professional Football League (LFP) to terminate its contract to broadcast Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 games. Revealed by L'Équipe, the letter indicates that no additional payment will be made since only the delivered matches can be paid. The other broadcaster, beIN Sports, should logically follow suit, leaving the League with a new shortfall of 243 million euros.
A week earlier, after tough negotiations, the LFP had managed to reach an agreement with the two channels for the settlement of rights over a number of Ligue 1 and 2 matches played before the brutal end of the championship on 13 March. Canal + had agreed to pay 37 million euros (on an expected payment of 110 million) and beIN Sports, 10.6 million euros (out of 42 million). The overall bill is therefore very salty for the LFP. For the 2019-2020 season, the rights negotiated with the Canal + group for the broadcasting of Ligue 1 amounted to a total of 558 million euros, those of beIN to 190 million euros. Rights that represent 40 to 45% of club revenues, by far their primary source of income.
"Not the same relationship with the world of rugby"
To further complicate the financial situation of the LFP, uncertainty still hangs over the resumption date of next season and the deadlines within which it will receive the first installment of its new broadcaster. From the 2020-2021 season, it is indeed the Spanish Mediapro which holds the television rights. However, the latter, faced with financial difficulties, may not be able to honor its commitment of 800 million euros. Before the crisis, the first payment was to take place on August 5 (with the payment of beIN, the L1 must total 1.153 billion per season).
In addition to much less sums at stake, the situation is a little different for the National Rugby League, which is also facing the stopping of the Top 14 and the Pro D2. Its broadcaster, Canal +, which acquired the rights for 97 million per season until 2023, has already paid 85% of the season, while only 60% of the matches have been broadcast. The chain will not claim reimbursement of the difference. She could even agree to make the last payment of 17.1 million euros planned for the season in order not to put the clubs in an impossible financial situation. This payment would then be a kind of advance over the next seasons, to smooth the shock. " We clearly do not have the same relationship with the world of football as with the world of rugby which is a real partner, " Le Figaro told the chain's management last March.
Upset grids
Other sporting events, such as the Tour de France and Roland-Garros, had to be postponed, but should take place at the end of the summer, much to the relief of their broadcasters and their organizers. Thus, the Great Loop must take place from August 29 to September 20, which will force France Télévisions and, to a lesser extent, Eurosport to upset their back-to-school program schedules. But the two broadcasters would have had more to lose from outright cancellation of the event. France Télévisions will broadcast just behind the Roland-Garros tournament, postponed to September 20 (or perhaps September 27). It remains to be seen for the channels if the audiences at this time of the year will be there.