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Maxime Saada, chief executive of French pay-TV broadcaster Canal+, has informed France’s Professional Football League (LFP) that the network will not be paying its next broadcast rights instalment, according to L'Equipe.
With French soccer's top two tiers, Ligue 1 and Ligue 2, currently suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic, Saada reportedly wrote to the LFP over the weekend, stating that the broadcaster was not in a position to transfer the €110 million (US$120.5 million) fee due on 5th April.
Saada's letter, as published by the French sports paper, said: ‘Our pay-TV activities are strongly impacted by the closure of large part of our sales channels and by the weakening of the attractiveness of our sports offers. Our advertising revenues are in free fall [and] our international television and Studiocanal activities are also severely affected.’
Adding: ‘We are therefore obliged to take the necessary measures to mitigate the financial impact of this crisis.’
In response, the LFP insisted that Canal+, which shares domestic rights to French soccer’s top two club competitions with Qatar pay-TV broadcaster BeIN Sports, still owes the money despite cutting its 2019/20 season ten weekends short on 13th March.
BeIN is also scheduled to pay the LFP a fee worth €42 million (US$46 million) on 5th April, according to L’Equipe. Both BeIN and Canal are apparently due to make further payments totalling €140 million (US$153.4 million) on 5th June.
While the LFP has provisionally scheduled to restart its season on 15th May, which would take the current campaign up to 15th July, any further delay on the start of next season may also have ramifications for Canal+.
Under the contracts for the upcoming 2020/21 to 2023/24 rights cycle, Canal+ has signed a deal to sublicense two Ligue 1 matches from BeIN per round, while Spanish agency Mediapro has the majority of the rights to France’s top-flight.
Elsewhere, the German Football League (DFL) is holding discussions with Sky Deutschland over the pay-TV broadcaster’s final instalment of this season’s rights payments.
It is has been reported that Sky is not obliged to pay the DFL while live Bundesliga matches have been suspended. However, the DFL is apparently confident that both parties can come to a resolution.
Maxime Saada, chief executive of French pay-TV broadcaster Canal+, has informed France’s Professional Football League (LFP) that the network will not be paying its next broadcast rights instalment, according to L'Equipe.
With French soccer's top two tiers, Ligue 1 and Ligue 2, currently suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic, Saada reportedly wrote to the LFP over the weekend, stating that the broadcaster was not in a position to transfer the €110 million (US$120.5 million) fee due on 5th April.
Saada's letter, as published by the French sports paper, said: ‘Our pay-TV activities are strongly impacted by the closure of large part of our sales channels and by the weakening of the attractiveness of our sports offers. Our advertising revenues are in free fall [and] our international television and Studiocanal activities are also severely affected.’
Adding: ‘We are therefore obliged to take the necessary measures to mitigate the financial impact of this crisis.’
In response, the LFP insisted that Canal+, which shares domestic rights to French soccer’s top two club competitions with Qatar pay-TV broadcaster BeIN Sports, still owes the money despite cutting its 2019/20 season ten weekends short on 13th March.
BeIN is also scheduled to pay the LFP a fee worth €42 million (US$46 million) on 5th April, according to L’Equipe. Both BeIN and Canal are apparently due to make further payments totalling €140 million (US$153.4 million) on 5th June.
While the LFP has provisionally scheduled to restart its season on 15th May, which would take the current campaign up to 15th July, any further delay on the start of next season may also have ramifications for Canal+.
Under the contracts for the upcoming 2020/21 to 2023/24 rights cycle, Canal+ has signed a deal to sublicense two Ligue 1 matches from BeIN per round, while Spanish agency Mediapro has the majority of the rights to France’s top-flight.
Elsewhere, the German Football League (DFL) is holding discussions with Sky Deutschland over the pay-TV broadcaster’s final instalment of this season’s rights payments.
It is has been reported that Sky is not obliged to pay the DFL while live Bundesliga matches have been suspended. However, the DFL is apparently confident that both parties can come to a resolution.
