The LFP wants to review the method of marketing TV rights for professional championships (photo illustration).

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ALLILI MOURAD / SIPA

The French Professional Football League (LFP) has launched a "market consultation" for the vacant TV rights of Ligue 1 and Ligue 2, with a submission of offers from interested broadcasters expected on February 1, a. she announced Tuesday.

This consultation, separated into two procedures, one for L1 (four sets of matches or magazines), the other for L2 (two sets), concerns the matches abandoned in December by the defective broadcaster Mediapro, and does not include not those broadcast by Canal +, contrary to what the encrypted channel hoped.

These lots, which therefore represent 80% of Ligue 1 and Ligue 2, will be on sale for the entire duration of the current TV rights cycle, i.e. until the end of the 2023-2024 season.

The @LFPfr launched this Tuesday, January 19, 2021 two market consultations relating to the audiovisual exploitation rights of the championships of @ Ligue1UberEats on the one hand and of @ Ligue2BKT on the other hand.



Press release 📝➡️ https://t.co/34vJX95NY6 pic.twitter.com/LmoMPjPek6

- Professional Football League (@LFPfr) January 19, 2021

The procedure, which the League refuses to call a “call for tenders” in its press release published in the evening, has been set up in an accelerated manner, to face the growing financial emergency for the clubs.

Ten days to put together offers

These are deprived of ticket revenues by the health crisis, and deprived of most of their television revenues by the withdrawal of the Mediapro group, which had initially promised a record amount of more than 800 million euros per year for 80 % of Ligue 1 and Ligue 2.

Thus, operators interested in broadcasting French football will only have ten days to put together offers, with Canal + in the lead.

For the LFP, this shortened period can hope to avoid the "black screen", namely the hypothesis of non-broadcast matches which would immediately affect the visibility of clubs and their advertising revenues.

For the time being, Téléfoot, the Mediapro channel, should only continue broadcasting the meetings until January 31, even if it has said it is ready to go further, like other channels that have offered their services in such a way. transient.

However, from February 7, an essential match is on the program, the “Classic” between Marseille and Paris SG.

Go to court with Canal +?

All eyes will now turn to Canal +: the Vivendi group channel, led by Vincent Bolloré, said last week that it wanted to restore the matches it broadcasts, i.e. 20% of Ligue 1 for 330 million euros per year, considering that a global call for tenders should be launched.

But the League has a different analysis and does not intend to put these matches in competition, which raises fears of a Canal + challenge in court and new legal battles in the coming weeks.

To date, only the encrypted channel has publicly expressed its interest in buying the TV rights to French football.

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