Paris (AFP)

It is an axis of progression for Ligue 1, which has made development abroad one of its salvation plans: for the time being, its international TV rights are limited to around 80 million. euros per year until 2024, far from the 1.5 billion euros of the English Premier League, the Championship which generates the most money, or even of the 139 M EUR of the Italian Serie A (excluding the United States and Middle East).

And a prestigious poster like the classic OM-PSG, enhanced by the brilliance of Messi's six Ballons d'Or, can help sell Ligue 1 better outside France in the next round of rights.

Last year, for Marseille's 1-0 victory at the Parc des Princes on September 13, 2020, nearly 5 million viewers followed the match internationally, "the culmination" of a 2020-2021 season where the Ligue 1, broadcast by 55 channels in 208 territories according to the LFP, generated a cumulative audience of 580 million viewers, a figure up 20%.

"Unprecedented international coverage"

"The trend should continue during the 2021-2022 season, which will see Ligue 1 benefit from unprecedented international coverage," notes the LFP in a communication sent to AFP, welcoming the availability of new major broadcasters. scale in China (Migu), India (Viacom18), Brazil (ESPN), the Netherlands (Ziggo) or Italy (Sky).

This influx of broadcasters "will significantly increase the scope of the championship internationally," said the League, which says it is already measuring the effects.

French PSG striker Kylian Mbappé (l.) And Argentinian teammate Lionel Messi during the Champions League match between Paris Saint-Germain and RB Leipzig, at Parc des Princes, in Paris, on October 19 2021. FRANCK FIFE AFP

Messi's first match with PSG in Reims on August 29 (2-0) shattered the Ligue 1 audience record abroad with more than 14 million viewers, according to the LFP.

However, the room for improvement remains immense.

Thus, the Spanish Liga claims no less than 650 million potential viewers "to the four corners of the world" for the clasico Barcelona-Real Madrid on Sunday (4:15 pm), ensuring to have "the most followed club poster" on the planet .

A postulate to be qualified because Ligue 1, broadcast in China on the public channel CCTV, has a showcase to more than a billion potential viewers ...

OM-PSG in clear in Spain

In Spain, the Cuatro channel decided to broadcast the classic OM-PSG in clear and live Sunday evening with in particular the former striker Fernando Morientes, briefly passed by OM (2009-10), to the comments.

Cuatro was encouraged by the audiences of Telecinco (another channel of the Mediaset group) for the Reims-PSG meeting, which has become the most watched football match of a foreign championship in the history of Spanish television with 2.2 million average viewers, and peaks at 6.7 million, according to Mediaset.

"Obviously, the interest in Spain is higher than before, as the figures of Messi's first match against Reims proved," notes AFP a communication manager for the Kosmos group, led by Gerard Piqué, who owns the marketing rights for Ligue 1 in Spain.

"There should be at least as many people (Sunday) as for that match. The Spanish public consumes French football because it consumes its stars."

In Brazil, "the classic" has been broadcast for several years, especially since Neymar wears the colors of the Parisian club.

For Brazilian viewers, more than the OM-PSG poster, it is above all the Parisian club that attracts attention, for the presence of "Ney" and Messi.

But the Brazilian press is also looking at the results of Jorge Sampaoli's OM, since the Argentine technician managed Santos and Atlético Mineiro.

In England, a country little turned towards foreign football, the broadcaster BT Sports will give priority Sunday to the Italian clash Inter Milan-Juventus Turin (8:45 p.m.) on its channel BT Sports 1, the OM-PSG poster being relegated to BT Sports 2. According to a YouGov poll released this week, only 12% of UK football fans show an interest in Ligue 1, while 23% of those polled say they are interested in Spain's La Liga.

French Marseille midfielder Dimitri Payet during the L1 match between Marseille and Lorient on October 17, 2021 at the Stade Vélodrome in Marseille.

Nicolas TUCAT AFP

Finally, in Italy, the meeting broadcast on Sky risks suffering from media competition from two major sporting events on Sunday: the last MotoGP Grand Prix in Italy for icon Valentino Rossi, and especially Inter-Juve in Serie A, at the same time that OM-PSG.

td-pve-raa-hap-kca-eba-jed / jta / av

© 2021 AFP