The announcement of the victory of Amazon as the main broadcaster of Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 of the French football championship surprised many people, Sacha Nokovitch, media journalist at "L'Equipe", and Christophe Lepetit, responsible for economic studies at the Center for Law and Economics of Sport, explain in "Culture Médias" this tour de force.
INTERVIEW
Despite the end of the Mediapro earthquake, its shock waves continue to roam French football.
It is they who have indeed allowed the thunderous arrival of Amazon in the broadcasting of matches of Ligue 1 and Ligue 2. An entry into the TV rights market that surprised many people, and explained in Monday in
Culture Media
the media journalist at
L'Equipe
Sacha Nokovitch and the head of economic studies at the Center for Law and Economics of Sport (CDES) Christophe Lepetit.
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While the challenge for French football was to find a stable broadcaster for Ligue 1 and Ligue 2, all eyes were (logically) on Canal + and BeIn Sports.
In the end, it was Amazon that was chosen, winning 80% of the matches.
"Last February, when Mediapro had left, Canal + arrived as a savior. He had paid 200 million euros all at once, a sort of advance on the end of the season, by settling a bonus of 35 million to help clubs at that time, ”recalls the media journalist to
L'Equipe
Sacha Nokovitch.
A "discreet offer" from Amazon arriving "at the last moment"
A rescue that was not enough to win the new contract, different from the usual procedure. "The call for tenders, to recover the famous matches broadcast by Mediapro until then, was declared unsuccessful at the start of the year. This required a direct negotiation directly, and not an auction procedure usual ", specifies Sacha Notovitch. "At any time, a new actor could come in and offer a sum on the table in a fairly discreet manner. What Amazon did at the last moment, Thursday night, just before the League's Board of Directors."
It is this sudden offer from Amazon that surprised everyone, even if Canal + felt it coming, according to the journalist from
L'Equipe
.
"Canal + says it regularly, there has always been a surprise. The League never wants to leave it alone on the market and that's what happened. It preferred a new actor, who is more powerful", analysis he does.
"We understand the malaise of Canal +"
At the time when Amazon made its offer, the group estimated, thanks to the revelations of the press, the amount of the sum promised by Canal +. "Amazon has been able to adapt and take advantage of it," observes the journalist from
L'Equipe
. "The big winner in this story is Amazon, which enjoys 80% of Ligue 1 matches for a very reasonable sum: 250 million euros per season."
A sum that made cringe at Canal +, which announced its withdrawal on Friday. "Amazon would have put a ticket of 250 million euros on the table to win these eight matches per day of Ligue 1, where Canal +, via beIn Sports and their sub-licensing agreement, pays 332 million euros for two meetings ", adds the head of economic studies of the CDES Christophe Lepetit. "We understand the discomfort on the Canal + side of having a higher amount for only two meetings ..."