Is football losing the love of the people? The litany settles in slowly and surely, until it becomes a self-fulfilling prediction? In France, anxiety has crystallized around numerous symptoms: the disappointing Blues, haughty Mbappé, a Ligue 1 without stars and of course the cost of subscribing to DAZN. With only officially 500,000 subscribers, surely in reality much fewer, the English platform is clearly missing its French bet for the moment. And even adding the figures for illegal streaming, what was the real audience for the Classic?
We are far from the figures of Amazon, which exceeded a million, or even of Canal + when the big shocks of our domestic championship brought together nearly 1.8 million people, not counting the filled bars in front of a TV hung above the zinc . Today, few bars have agreed to pay the 200 euros per month required for the privilege of enjoying their Sunday afternoon with a Toulouse-Auxerre, and have instead remained faithful to the encrypted channel – and therefore to the cups of Europe during the week – to quench their customers’ thirst for footballing excitement. Add to it the eclipse of the small videos of goals (legally shared by broadcasters or Free) on social networks following the confusion in the negotiations with Bein Sports, and it therefore becomes legitimate to wonder who still watches Ligue 1 matches, and if sometimes it does not mass no more people in the stands than in front of a screen.
European championships don't have this problem
However, contrary to a leitmotif that claims to be a sociological analysis, we, French, still love football just as much. The statistics of amateur football and the growth of other footballs (7-a-side, walking football, futsal, women's football or even mixed football) bear witness to this. Above all, the appetite for European competitions does not weaken. Canal+ has acquired their exclusivity, a choice which seems wise despite the steep price tag. Foreign championships retain a real appeal, often growing, whether it is the Premier League or La Liga. And now the L'Équipe channel will offer free access to the two most beautiful posters of the Italian Serie A, an institution in the midst of a sporting renaissance (as evidenced by the performances on the European level), with Napoli on fire this season under the baton by Conte.
In this configuration, no one can dispute that this year, at least, half as many fans are watching Ligue 1. This drop in visibility also seems to be combined with a distancing from the public, both cultural and economic. The main news oscillates between the twists and turns of TV rights, occasionally arbitration, and excesses in the stands, in other words the political side.
Whet the public's appetite
The LFP's strategy continues to ignore this danger, and is locked into the certainty that, despite everything, Ligue 1 remains a “premium product”. A ubiquitous blindness, particularly in terms of simple market research. To seduce the public again, and especially the youngest, it is necessary to give them reasons to come back, to whet their appetite, to relearn their taste for “French-style football”other than with expensive clips and incantations of pseudo economic patriotism. Competition is everywhere, particularly on other sports grounds (MMA, basketball, now ping-pong, etc.).
Invisibility, particularly on our children's smartphones, distills a nasty habit of ignorance, which will require patience and a long-term vision to eradicate it. Would it not be appropriate to take advantage of the crisis with Bein, to temporarily give up the revenue generated by the meeting that the Qatari channel broadcasts (often the one on Saturday afternoon) and place it on a free channel, in the clear – why not public service – in order to win back souls and eyes? Without that, our Ligue 1 could end up occupying the place of Betlic Elite against the NBA. Out of sight, out of mind, out of wallet…
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