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The French football league and media group DAZN have settled their broadcast rights dispute, allowing the league to open talks with other broadcasters or potentially set up its own channel to screen matches.
The settlement, confirmed by both parties on Friday, concludes several months of negotiations and a legal battle.
DAZN last year agreed to pay about €400mn a year for the rights to show the majority of Ligue 1 matches from 2024 to 2029. But subscriber numbers have not met its expectations, losses were piling up and the broadcaster argued that the league was not doing enough to tackle piracy.
The UK-based broadcaster had refused to continue on the previously agreed financial terms beyond this season, which is due to conclude this month.
The league and DAZN faced off in court over the contract, with the threat of financial crisis hanging over smaller clubs if the funds were not paid.
DAZN has released the French league operator from the exclusivity agreed under their contract, according to two people with knowledge of the matter.
Ligue de Football Professionnel, which runs the top two leagues in France, will talk to other potential broadcast partners in the coming weeks, the people said.
The league could find an alternative broadcaster or set up its own channel, an initiative that could ultimately be supported by DAZN. The company said earlier this week that it had proposed to invest €100mn in the league’s “channel project” over the first two years.
If DAZN pulls out of the contract completely and does not invest in the new channel, then it would have to pay a break fee to the league of around €100mn.
Broadcasting is a vital source of revenue to clubs, in addition to ticket sales and sponsorship arrangements, that enables them to attract and retain top players.
The French league, which includes Paris Saint-Germain and Olympique Marseille, has been in a state of near permanent crisis for the past five years. Its struggles go back to its decision to pick Spain’s Mediapro over long-standing French partner Canal+ in an auction in 2018, when overall media rights value jumped 60 per cent to €1.15bn a season.
But Mediapro stopped paying during the pandemic, leaving the league in the lurch. Canal+ refused to bid for the rights again, accusing the league of showing a “total lack of transparency”.
In 2022, with the league in need of capital to repair its finances, CVC Capital Partners invested €1.5bn. In return, the private equity firm was granted a stake in the commercial entity that markets the league’s broadcast rights.
That entity recently hired veteran French TV executive Nicolas de Tavernost, who was responsible for the recent talks with DAZN. His arrival has also raised hopes of mending relations with Canal+. Maxime Saada, who leads the French broadcaster, recently welcomed de Tavernost’s appointment.