Difficult to call it a surprise.
Let's say instead that the community's concerns have been confirmed.
This Thursday morning, Maxime Saada, president of Canal+, was interviewed at the National Assembly by the parliamentary commission of inquiry into TNT.
At the turn of a question asked by the majority deputy Karl Olive, member of the board of directors of the LFP, it was question of the ongoing negotiations for the TV rights of Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 between 2024 and 2029 .
The leader did not beat around the bush.
The boycott continues.
“We believe we have been victims of very significant harm for the Canal+ group.
Which mainly explains the current deficit of Canal+ in France.
Under these conditions, we have not renewed our participation in the Ligue 1 call for tenders and we are not participating today in over-the-counter discussions.
»
This blunt and concise response reminds us of something.
This fall, when announcing his refusal to participate in the call for tenders - the first stage of the negotiations, ultimately unsuccessful - Maxime Saada had already expressed his feeling of having been cheated after the Mediapro fiasco.
To summarize, Canal+ still cannot digest having continued to pay 332 million euros to broadcast two elite matches.
While Amazon Prime had taken over the rest of the meetings from the Spanish company for 250 million euros per year.
Competition at a standstill
In an ideal world, this potential disengagement from Canal+, a historic broadcaster since 1984, could be simply anecdotal.
In this world, the international market for sports rights would be in full swing and competition in France between traditional candidates and entrants would be the business of the League.
Unfortunately, quite the opposite is happening.
And if the departure of star Kylian Mbappé next season doesn't help matters, it is only a detail in the difficult equation of the LFP.
Vincent Labrune and his inner circle confront investors in a position of strength.
Firstly, the British streaming platform DAZN, increasingly present in the territory, and which submitted an offer that is still far from meeting the requirements.
Failing to reach one billion euros, the League is aiming for around 900 million euros (adding international rights, currently estimated at 80 million euros).
Also read: Ligue 1 TV rights towards a reduction “with or without Mbappé”: why his departure will have little influence
For this, the LFP is banking heavily on a duel or a collaboration with BeIN Sports.
Absent from Ligue 1 at present, and simply broadcaster of Ligue 2, the Franco-Qatari group is monitoring the situation closely.
Tuesday evening, ahead of the dinner organized at the Elysée with the Emir of Qatar, the group's president Yousef Al-Obaidly and Vincent Labrune discussed TV rights.
A pack including the broadcast of an exclusive match, and a handful of others in co-broadcast, is on the table.
On the Amazon Prime side, this is not the time for overbidding either.
Even rather extreme caution.
For all these reasons, this series could still last several months.
With, sitting quietly on his sofa and anything but worried about the turn taken by the negotiations, Canal+.
As a distributor of DAZN and BeIN, the ship of the Bolloré group, delighted by the audiences of F1 and the Top 14 and broadcaster next year of the entire Champions League, is moving forward with all the cards in hand .
He has no interest at the moment in joining the dance and waking up stalled competition.
The higher the final amount, the more money he will have to pay to recover part of the rights second hand if that is his secret ambition.