The Paris Commercial Court must rule this Thursday at the end of the afternoon whether the Professional Football League (LFP) will have to put all of its TV rights into play for the next three seasons.
It is the demand of Canal + which had taken the LFP to court on January 25.
The encrypted channel contests, in fact, the right to the body which manages professional football to market only 80% of its rights to L1 and L2 formerly acquired by Mediapro.
The failing Spanish broadcaster had put 830 million euros for the period 2020-2024 before stopping paying at the start of this season, then surrendering its rights to the League during an agreement validated by the courts at the end of 2020. Canal + feels wronged in this story.
Canal + wanted a global call for tenders
After the 2018 call for tenders from which it came out empty-handed, the pay channel had sub-licensed from BeIN Sports lot 3, i.e. two matches (Saturday at 9 p.m. and Sunday at 5 p.m.) against 332 million. euros.
An amount that Canal + considers today disproportionate in view of the events.
These led the League to put into play the only rights formerly held by Mediapro (80% of L1 and L2), while the pay channel demanded a global call for tenders.
In the end, Canal + still acquired all the rights to L1 and L2 until the end of this season.
But the judges' decision will allow the League to better define the attitude to adopt for the remaining three seasons.
