Football TV rights: the questions raised by the divorce with Mediapro

DECRYPTION

It is the end of two months of conflict over television rights to the French championship and the start of a period of uncertainty for French football.

The Professional Football League decided on Friday to end the contract with its major broadcaster Mediapro, and if the release of the Sino-Spanish broadcaster has yet to be validated by the Nanterre commercial court, many questions are already being asked. .

As well on the identity of the next broadcaster of the Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 matches as well as on the economic balance of French clubs, or on the options of subscribers seeking reimbursement.

Europe 1 takes stock. 

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Will the next matches still be broadcast?

Do not panic for football fans, the screens will not be black on the next day.

Téléfoot, the Mediapro channel, told AFP that it would continue to broadcast Ligue 1 at least until December 23, pending future broadcasters.

The matches of this weekend, counting for the 14th day of Ligue 1, will therefore be well broadcast. 

Thus, the Saint-Etienne-Angers match on Friday evening (9 p.m.), like the PSG-Lyon shock on Sunday (9 p.m.), will be visible on Téléfoot. 

Who will take over? 

After the resounding failure of Mediapro, the question on everyone's lips obviously concerns the identity of the future major broadcaster.

Unsurprisingly, most eyes are on Canal +, the historic broadcaster of the French championship.

But the group remains discreet, and its boss Maxime Saada had already indicated in

that he would not reinvest "at a loss" in football.

Contacted by AFP, Canal + did not respond. 

Still, Canal + has never hidden its love for the French championship.

Wednesday on Europe 1, therefore before the decision of the LFP, the director of antennas and programs of the group Gerald Brice-Viret assured that Canal + had "for objective, of course, to participate in the rebirth of Ligue 1".

According to

, the encrypted channel could formulate a proposal of around 590 million euros.

But the historic championship broadcaster, in a strong position, plays discretion and distance to lower prices. 

What can subscribers do? 

If Mediapro has never been close to reaching its ambitious goal of 3.5 million subscribers, necessary in the long term to make its project profitable, Téléfoot has nonetheless been able to convince 600,000 subscribers, according to statements by the Catalan boss of Mediapro. Jaume Roures in October. 

But for these subscribers soon deprived of the matches for which they had subscribed to this new offer, it is now uncertainty that reigns.

Can they, for example, be reimbursed?

In

, Raphaël Bartlomé, head of the legal department of the UFC Que Choisir, ensures that in the event of an outright stop by Téléfoot from broadcasting its programs, "the civil code allows payments to be suspended. You can take the initiative to do it without going through a judge ". 

In addition, recalls the sports daily, the Téléfoot subscription contract provides for the reimbursement "of the sums paid by the subscriber for the remainder of the subscription", "in the event of bankruptcy, cessation of activity, or termination of the CSA convention ".

It is also possible to enter the mediation of electronic communications, if reimbursements are too late. 

The situation is more complex in two cases.

First of all, if Téléfoot continues to broadcast some programs, even without Ligue 1. "But even if I have committed for X months, we can consider that there is a modification of their offer", estimates Raphaël Bartlomé in

.

Finally, what if the subscriber has subscribed to an offer via his operator?

Raphaël Bartlomé advises "to approach it quickly and make it aware of the fact that the service does not correspond to what was purchased".

And to conclude: "Negotiating a price reduction seems complicated, but the easiest way is to ask to cancel".

Will the League get its money back? 

As for Mediapro, since its decision not to honor its deadline in October, then in December, the unpaid amount now stands at around 325 million euros.

If the precise conditions of Mediapro's exit are not yet known, according to a Ligue 1 club leader to AFP, the LFP has managed to obtain compensation of around 100 million euros from the broadcaster. , of which some 30 million euros are deferred to 2021.

What consequences for clubs?

Already weakened by the health crisis as well as the loss of income caused by the absence of audiences in the stadiums, several Ligue 1 clubs could find it difficult to cash the discount of several hundred million euros per year caused by the departure by Mediapro.

In 2018, it was indeed a historic contract worth 1.217 billion euros for Ligue 1 and Ligue 2, including more than 800 for Mediapro, which had been negotiated. 

On the side of French football players, we do not hide our concern.

Lyon coach Rudi Garcia has deplored a "double penalty" and a "new blow for French football".

"We have not only not touched the end of TV rights that we should have touched with the end of the season in the spring and, in addition, we will not have the billion for which we had, perhaps, stopped earlier to start this 20/21 season in the best conditions, "he regretted.

His OM counterpart, André Villas-Boas, spoke to him of "concern about the financial stability of clubs". 

On Europe 1, Vincent Chaudel, sports economist, warns that "the consequences will be multiple and very painful for French football".

"It will be very difficult for the League to recover the sums owed by Mediapro and to find a financial balance with other providers, other partners, to find the billion and 150 million euros that was expected and budgeted by the 'all football clubs'.