Neymar and the Coupe de France -
CHINA NOUVELLE / SIPA
The soap opera on TV rights to Ligue 1 is not over as French football is already offering us its spin-off: the rights to the Coupe de France.
The newspaper
L'Equipe
, presenters of the competition, Eurosport and France Television, sent a letter "last week" at the French Football Federation to demand a discount of approximately 6.6 million euros [or a 30% discount] based on the “change of format” and the “holding of matches behind closed doors”.
Discussions have since taken place between the president of the FFF Noël Le Graët and the two channels holding the rights for the period 2018-2022, but the file has been put on standby, according to the source joined by AFP.
Solicited, France Télévisions and the Federation did not wish to comment.
Modified format
For its part, Eurosport said it was "in permanent contact with all sports organizers in France and internationally", in particular to "find solutions to bring the best possible visibility to the competitions in the interest of the fans".
But the channel ensures that it has "no comments to make on internal discussions that could take place between partners."
For the 2018/19 season, the FFF received 23.9 million euros in revenue for the broadcast of the Coupe de France.
This sum also includes the participation of the BeIN Sports channel, for a little less than 2 million euros.
In December, the Federation changed the format of the Coupe de France for the 2020/21 financial year, which has been disrupted since the end of October by the end of collective competitions and training for amateur clubs.
The Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 clubs face each other in a dedicated lane until the round of 16, where the other clubs join them after separating from their side.
Sport
Ligue 1 TV rights: Téléfoot will continue to broadcast L1 at least until February 3
Soccer
FFF
Sport
French Cup