The bidding process for domestic rights to top flight French football in the 2024-29 cycle has stalled after the Ligue de Football Professionel (LFP) did not receive any offers to screen Ligue 1.
The LFP has now been forced to proactively negotiate with potentially interested parties.
After the deadline for the submission passed on Monday it emerged that no offers had been made beyond the reserve price.
“After having received multiple qualitative offers and guaranteed financial packages on all of the bundles (1-5), LFP Media reveals that none of the bundles have been attributed today (Tuesday. As a result, LFP Media is continuing its commercialisation process of the rights to Ligue 1 and postpones the call for candidates for Ligue 2,” the LFP said in a statement.
There are five bundles on offer including two main bundles that include the rights to broadcast matches live. One such bundle, priced at €530 million, features the two top match picks of the week to be broadcast live.
It had been hoped that Amazon Prime Video and Canal+, which between them hold the current rights, might begin a price war with BeIN Sports, DAZN and Apple.
French sports daily L’Équipe reports that DAZN and BeIN both submitted offers below the reserve price. Amazon believes it overpaid for its current rights package, while Canal+ has already publicly declared it wouldn’t enter the race.
The failure to receive a satisfactory bid for the Ligue 1 rights means that the auction for Ligue 2 – where BeIN currently holds the rights – has now been postponed.
