INTERVIEW
The time of revenge has come for Canal +. The historical broadcaster of the French Championship will succeed RMC Sport between 2021 and 2024 to broadcast, with beIN Sports and TF1 (popur the final only), the Champions League for a record global amount of 375 million euros per year. "The winner of the tender is Canal +," says Virgile Caillet, General Delegate of Union Sport and Cycles.
The generalist channel, which built its DNA around sports, cinema and a premium offer, won the number one lot, "the most expensive", according to Virgile Caillet. Thus, it is revenge of the Sino-Spanish group Mediapro, which has won the vast majority of Ligue 1, from next season, against the promise of an annual check of 780 million euros.
"Canal + has regained investment capacity"
Furious, the president of Mediapro, Jaume Roures, reacted very strongly to the outcome of the negotiations: "There was a trash", he denounces. "Our offers were better on the two laps, and since Thursday afternoon UEFA was trying to reach an agreement between Canal + and beIN Sports to boost the offer."
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This new player, arrived a year ago brutally in French radars, would be able to mobilize 4 million subscribers while beIN Sport already gathers only 3 million after nearly ten years of broadcast
"The European Cup represents a third of the value of Ligue 1 (1.15 billion euros per year): losing the Ligue 1, Canal + has finally saved money and found an investment capacity", explains Vincent Chaudel, founder of the Sport Business Observatory. "This means that to make this type of investment profitable, you need at least 4 million subscribers to its platform," says Virgile Caillet.
A future merger between Canal + and Mediapro
The representative of Union Sport and Cycles doubts that Mediapro has this capacity. "This new actor, arrived a year ago brutally in French radars, would be able to mobilize 4 million subscribers while beIN Sport already gathers only 3 million after nearly ten years of broadcasting", he raises, skeptical. So what strategy to adopt?
Several times has been mentioned the possibility of a future agreement between Canal + and Mediapro, in which everyone agrees to give pictures to the other. "Mediapro is a production company at the start: either it produces, or it diffuses, or both at the same time", recalls Vincent Chaudel. "She is used to working with other international partners, like beIN Sport."