Paris (AFP)

On the one hand, a stopped championship. On the other, diffusers with emptied grids. And in the middle, a manna in suspense ... The war of televised rights began in French football, a battle which engages the financial survival of many Ligue 1 clubs.

Canal +, the historic broadcaster of the L1, launched the first offensive by announcing to the Professional Football League (LFP) its intention not to honor the next payment of TV rights for the season, via a letter from its president revealed by the daily L'Equipe.

If the encrypted channel maintains its reasoning by Sunday, the theoretical date of payment for the draft, some 110 million euros - 15% of the total annual amount for the L1 - will not end up in the coffers of elite clubs, principal beneficiaries of this payment.

Already weakened by measures linked to the coronavirus pandemic, including the suspension of matches synonymous with the absence of ticketing revenues and the postponement of any event operations, the Ligue 1 teams will therefore have to integrate this new shortfall into their budget projections to win.

It will be much heavier: TV rights, which in fact represent almost 36% of L1 club revenues for the 2018-2019 season, are by far their biggest source of income, according to the DNCG report, the gendarme French football financier.

- Losses "whatever happens" -

Bernard Joannin, the president of Amiens, has in any case "reviewed all the scenarios", including that of a suspension of part of the television rights for the season. "Whatever happens, these are loss scenarios," he told AFP, without however imagining the worst.

"With the broadcasters, we are in a relationship between buyer and supplier. We are not in a scenario of rupture. They have problems, we have ours, a dialogue must be established and solutions will be found", estimates the manager, member of the LFP Board of Directors. "I don't think Canal's decision is irreversible."

The concern could however grow if beIN Sports, the other broadcaster of the championship, chose to imitate Canal +. Contacted, the Qatari group, which must also honor a payment in early April - of 42 million euros -, did not wish to communicate its intentions.

For its part, the League insisted on the fact that part of the payments expected in early April from Canal + corresponded to matches already delivered before the suspension of the championship, for an amount of 43 million euros.

And the president of the French football federation Noël Le Graët, interviewed by RTL, insisted that "we should be careful that everyone respects their commitments, football first and our broadcasters too".

- Period of uncertainty -

But the encrypted channel, in its letter addressed to the organizing body of Ligue 1 and revealed by L'Equipe, was justified by explaining that "the health crisis affected (has) almost all of (its) activities" and that she was therefore "obliged" to suspend her payments.

"The stake is important for the chains: they bought rights and the events are not accessible any more to the totality of the consumers", develops Yves Morales, socio-historian with Cresco (center of research, body, sport) of Toulouse.

According to him, the crisis is likely to have even greater consequences for broadcasters: "There are a certain number of channels which today put films and shows in free access (including Canal +, passed in light until as of March 31, editor's note. We can imagine that after having experienced this situation, the spectator will want to demand better access to the sports show. "

A period of uncertainty therefore opens on French football and its financing, especially as another payment is expected for early June from Canal and beIN.

And to add to the vagueness, the 2020-2021 season must be that of the explosion of television rights, which exceeded one billion euros annually for the first time with the arrival on the market of the group Mediapro, majority broadcaster for the 2020-2024 period.

But until the end of the 2019-2020 season is not rescheduled, the calendar for next season is also on hold. "It is up to the LFP Board of Directors to enter into dialogue with the new broadcaster to set a plausible start date for the championship," urges Bernard Joannin. Aware, however, that before being able to "set up action plans, we will have to know the outcome of this pandemic".

© 2020 AFP