Ligue 1 should change its name in the future, explained Thursday the president of the Professional Football League (LFP), Vincent Labrune, according to whom the next call for tenders for TV rights for L1 and L2 will be held at fall 2023. "Ligue 1 is a brand that will have to be dusted off and renamed," he said, without specifying a date or launching any leads on the new name.
“We are opening up a reflection”, he declared during the “Tomorrow sport” meetings organized at the Maison de la Radio.
The elite French Championship was called National Division from 1932 to 1972, then Division 1 from 1972 to 2002, before taking the name of Ligue 1, in line with the English Championship, baptized Premier League in 1992.
Presenting his future plans for L1, Vincent Labrune also indicated that the next call for tenders for the rights to the French Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 Football Championship, which should cover the 2024-2028 cycle, will be held in the fall of 2023. “The 2022-2023 season is pivotal, before our call for tenders for television rights, the call for tenders will be held in the fall of 2023”, argued the leader.
French football, bailed out by the entry of the CVC investment fund into the capital of the new commercial company of the LFP, expects a lot from this call for tenders after the fiasco of the broadcaster Mediapro in 2020. This Sino-Spanish operator, which had won most of the broadcasting rights for L1 and L2, had withdrawn in disaster a few months later, forcing the LFP to reallocate its TV rights urgently and downwards, with in particular the arrival of the giant Amazon.
#TomorrowSport |
🎙 Vincent Labrune, president of @LFPfr: "The attractiveness of Ligue 1 in the short term will be based on our ability to create a group of 5 to 6 high-performance clubs around Paris Saint-Germain."@Francetele @franceinfo @lequipe pic.twitter.com/RLJfbIRowg
– francetvsport (@francetvsport) September 22, 2022
On TV rights, the LFP plans in the future to "gradually evolve the traditional model", operated by a third party (Amazon Prime Video or Canal + currently, for example), "towards an essentially digital and controlled model" through the “OTT” model.
The “OTT” (“Over the top”) scheme provides for the distribution of images directly on the Internet without the participation of a traditional network operator.
Currently, and until June 2024, Canal + pays 332 million euros for 20% of Ligue 1 TV rights. Amazon Prime Video pays 250 million for the rest.
