The LFP (Ligue de Football Professionnel) have launched an auction for the rights to broadcast from the start of next season, running through until 2032, it was confirmed by Vincent Labrune on Wednesday.
Ligue 1 is currently broadcast by an in-house broadcaster, Ligue 1 Plus, and is currently into its second season of broadcasting the league. Whilst, from an editorial perspective, it has been a success, that is not the case from a financial perspective. Most clubs have sought to move away from the league-owned broadcaster due to the lack of income it has provided. Income from TV rights has been in freefall ever since the MediaPro withdrawal. Prior to the creation of Ligue 1 Plus, DAZN and BeIN Sports had held the rights, with the latter broadcasting just one game. The former pulled out of the deal to broadcast France’s top flight after just one season.
Announcing that there will be a new round of bidding for a new five-year cycle from 2027 until 2032, Labrune spoke of a “new context” that is more favourable. He added, “For several months, there have been a certain number of registered concrete interests from different actors.” Due to a very recent change in legislation, the rights can now be sold in a single bundle, thus offering exclusivity rights.
The bidding will run from 3rd November until 7th December, the LFP have announced.