Canal+ is looking for a reduction in the amount of money it pays to transmit coverage of top flight French football. The pay-TV company is due to negotiate the rights for the next three seasons in November with the French football league LFP. The previous three-year deal costs Canal €600 million per year, but subsequent to the previous round of negotiations, the Vivendi-owned operator has merged with its former rival TPS.
Canal+ president Bertrand Meheut confirmed that Canal would again be among the bidders, but claimed that football had become less important to the channel’s proposition, saying that everything depended on the structure of the offer. The operator was “not ready” to pay the €600m fee.
Separately, Canal has signed deals with France Telecom’s Orange, Neuf Cegetel and Iliad’s Free to supply further channels over their ADSL platforms. Included are TPS Star, Cinestar, Cineculte, Cinetoile, Piwi, Teletoon and Sport Plus.
