What should we remember from the marriage between Téléfoot and Netflix?

• Netflix and Téléfoot have joined forces to offer consumers an offer at 29.90 euros per month.
• This agreement now places the Mediapro group in the same niche as its competitor Canal + with its foot-series-cinema offer.
• For Jean-Pascal Gayant, sports economist at the University of Le Mans, this deal is risky for the Catalan group Mediapro.

Netflix and the Téléfoot channel belonging to the Mediapro group, the new major broadcaster of Ligue 1 and Ligue 2, announced on Thursday a bundled offer at 29.90 euros per month, going to the field of Canal + with its series offer and of soccer. If this announcement should finally give some visibility to the future football channel, so far unknown to the general public, the agreement in question still raises many questions.

To try to see (a little) more clearly, we gave the floor to Jean-Pascal Gayant, sports economist at the University of Le Mans and specialist in TV rights issues in football. For him, this Mediapro-Netflix partnership is possibly a good thing for the Catalan group in the short term, even if it is far from ensuring the sustainability of Mediapro ...

[# Media📺] 🔴 Mediapro announces that it has reached an agreement with Netflix for a collaboration. A subscription of € 30.00 including Netflix + Téléfoot as an OTT offer (Computer, TV, Phone) will be available from the launch of the channel on August 17th! pic.twitter.com/csE9kKBIaC

What does this deal between Mediapro (with its Téléfoot channel) and Netflix inspire you?

I am divided in fact. It is undoubtedly a good move that Mediapro has just achieved for all that is distribution, visibility and opportunities to have subscribers, but on the other hand I can not help but tell myself that it is a little to bring the wolf into the fold. This agreement will certainly allow Mediapro to potentially reach a wider audience, but the offer announced at 30 euros per month (for a minimum of twelve months) is still far from negligible. Especially for a rather young audience like that of Netflix. It is still very expensive and we cannot say today whether the success will be there.

You were talking about bringing the wolf into the fold. Can you expand?

Netflix is ​​a monster and we know it worries most of its competitors because it can destabilize the economy of TV broadcasting around the world at any time. Therefore, it is not forbidden to think that, very quickly, Netflix will perhaps not need a conventional TV channel like Téléfoot to broadcast the sports spectacle. There, Mediapro allows Netflix to gain a foothold in the distribution of football in Europe and perhaps in a few years it will devour everything in its path.

What is emerging here with this model of football, series and cinema offerings is head-on competition between Mediapro and Netflix on one side and the Canal group on the other.

There is obviously a war on. Roures says he remains open to discussion with Canal, but we feel that all this has stalled despite several attempts at negotiations between the two groups in recent months. The most plausible prospect at the moment is that of a clash between two giants. A former giant, experienced, who has real football expertise, who has repositioned himself well by agreeing with beIN for the broadcasting of the two matches (Saturday at 9 p.m. and Sunday at 5 p.m.) and who, in addition , recovered the C1 and the C3 from 2021; and a fresh giant who perhaps allies himself with the devil to be able to offer and distribute his sports product.

📺 Where will European football be broadcast in the coming seasons? pic.twitter.com/f5pbOd0ScY

Do you think this is a very risky bet for Mediapro?

With this offer, Mediapro copies in some respects the current model of Canal +. Or modernize it, it depends. Now will the pack work? No one can really tell at the moment. What is certain, however, is that the amount paid by Mediapro for Ligue 1 is too high. Some experts estimate the fair price of French football TV rights at around 700 million euros, there with 1.153 billion euros, we are still very, very above. I still think Mediapro paid way too much. If we add to that what the group will have to pay to Altice to broadcast the Champions League, I do not know how it will be able to cover its costs. It is a risky game of poker and I am not sure it will ever be possible for them to cover their expenses. Personally, I don't believe it. Quite frankly, I don't even see them going after the four-year contract.

Since the announcement of the Téléfoot-Netflix agreement, football fans on social networks have been wondering how they will have to do if they are subscribed to Netflix via Canal to be able to access Téléfoot. In fact, we all have the impression of being a little lost. Is this also your case?

A little yes. I find it hard to understand how all of this will work for subscribers, how we access offers, what amounts to pay, how we disengage from one (Canal +) to switch to Telefoot on Netflix, all this amazes me a bit. And I think that this vagueness does not help the success of the company Mediapro. They are not stupid, they will adjust to try to offer simplicity to consumers but, at the moment, it is difficult to see clearly. I fear the first year will be very difficult for everyone, broadcasters and consumers alike. What will happen at the end of the next season when Mediapro will no longer have the Champions League [broadcast exclusively on Canal + and beIN Sport from 2021-2022]? Will consumers agree to pay so much to only have Ligue 1, even if they also have access to Netflix for that price? Nothing is less sure.

I have Netflix with Canal +. Could I benefit from an advantageous rate for Téléfoot or do I have to unsubscribe to get the combined offer knowing that my operator is Orange and not SFR? pic.twitter.com/nLJA2XYoOV

Ultimately, we are heading all the same towards a simplification of the market since a priori Altice and RMC are leaving and beIN is gradually withdrawing from football. It will therefore remain Canal and Mediapro with its alliance with Netflix. We will therefore quickly have only these two behemoths who will face each other. We should therefore have a little more visibility as to the offers available to us, even if it is not immediately. Just like in economics, we generally say that what is the worst for companies and investors is uncertainty, then it will be the same for us consumers. If on top of that you add the uncertainty related to Covid-19, that will start to do a lot. It is not excluded that the consumer may be tempted to withdraw, to wait to see more clearly before engaging with Mediapro.

Mediapro they can put Netflix Canal J and MTV as long as they have the choice 1 in L1 on 10 games / 38 it's a big no

Jaume Roures has reaffirmed that he will not close the door to an agreement with Canal in the coming weeks, do you believe it?

Not really, no. I have the impression that Canal + has every interest in leaving things as they are now in order to see it coming. They have two L1 games per weekend, including most of the best posters, plus the Champions League from the 2021-2022 season, so they look to me in a comfortable position. I do not see any interest for Canal in finding an agreement with Mediapro immediately. Well, all that can be broken in two days, we know how it works, but right now the group in the most delicate position is very clearly Mediapro. I would be Canal +, I would let Mediapro get away with its pecuniary commitments which are gigantic. Again, I think this group is going to be on a tightrope in the next eighteen months.

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