Paris (AFP)
What does Canal + play?
French football is feverishly seeking a buyer for its TV rights, but there is no rush to the encrypted channel, in a strong position in negotiations with the Professional Football League (LFP).
- Why does Canal + have an interest in making an offer?
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Since the failure of Mediapro, the Sino-Spanish group which had promised French football the record sum of more than 800 million euros per year until 2024 to broadcast Ligue 1 and Ligue 2, 80% of matches are on the market.
It's a godsend for Canal +, a historic broadcaster left empty-handed from the call for tenders in 2018: for more than two years, the encrypted channel has been hammering out that the L1 is not worth more than 650 million euros per year ... This is the opportunity to prove to the market that its strategy was the right one.
"They have an exclusive distribution contract with beIN, Altice (mother of RMC Sport) is leaving the landscape and Mediapro is shutting down," says Thomas Coudry, media and telecoms analyst at Bryan, Garnier & Co. "We would go back to the era where Canal is the almost exclusive broadcaster of premium football events, while appearing as the savior of French football. It has a lot of value."
- Why is Canal + delaying?
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While the LFP has recovered its TV rights since December 22, no formal offer has been submitted by the Vivendi group channel since then, according to several sources with knowledge of the negotiations.
Some figures have been mentioned orally before, according to these same sources, with a potential proposal of up to 590 million euros annually for the entire season of L1, far from the 1.153 billion euros obtained initially.
"Canal + is in no hurry," confirms a connoisseur of the file.
"They were ridiculed three years ago and it really hurt them. Today, Canal must ask the question: does she really need French football? The answer is that there is a price where it can be interesting, and another where it is not ".
Indeed, since the failure of the Ligue 1 tender, Canal has rebounded by buying two Championship posters per day from beIN Sports for 330 million euros per year, and by securing the return of the prestigious Champions League from 2021-2022.
Result: the loss of subscribers was minimized.
Another explanation for this delay: the difficulties in budgeting for such an unforeseen investment.
However, each week that passes, it is as many days of Championship which pass and a bill which decreases.
"Time is on the side of Canal because they don't have much to lose. Their position is extremely favorable," Thomas Coudry analyzes.
"It would be delusional for them to go and hand over a lot of money: they would have nothing to gain in the face".
- What role for the state?
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Several sources familiar with the matter advance the existence of negotiations underway between Vivendi and the State with a view to obtaining audiovisual reforms favorable to Vincent Bolloré's group, particularly on VAT, seen as a prerequisite for a massive investment in football.
But "there was no formal request" from Vivendi in this regard, according to another source familiar with the matter for whom "the link" between audiovisual reforms and football "is not obvious" especially as the The executive has always considered the TV rights issue to be the responsibility of two private players.
The government still has to save the football and its big salaries, whose "greed" was recently denounced by the Minister of Education and Sports Jean-Michel Blanquer ...
In this regard, French football will open the debate over the drop in player salaries in the coming days: a first meeting is scheduled for Tuesday with the UNFP players' union, according to several participants.
- Is there a risk of a black screen?
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The agreement between the League and Mediapro provides that the Téléfoot channel broadcasts matches "until January 31 at the latest".
The channel has already warned its subscribers that it will broadcast at least until January 20.
According to a source familiar with the matter, Téléfoot is nevertheless ready to play extra time until the appointment of a new broadcaster.
"After January 31, it remains open. Mediapro and the League will have to renegotiate," said this source.
A date is in everyone's mind, that of February 7, the day of the Ligue 1 "Classic" between Marseille and Paris Saint-Germain, a poster with great potential.
Will Canal + have drawn an offer by then?
© 2021 AFP