“Where is the inheritance? Where are the 100 potatoes?” Borrowed from the film “The Three Brothers”, this cult line resonates powerfully when evoking the general slump in which Vincent Labrune, president of the Professional Football League, finds himself stuck. After announcing that he was aiming for a billion euros for TV rights for the French championship in 2023, the former manager of Olympique de Marseille finally had to scale back his ambitions. Therefore, for the period 2024-2029, the person concerned would be satisfied, today, with half, or 500 million euros (excluding international duties, estimated at 160 million euros). A much smaller envelope, logically fueling the concern of French clubs and broadcasters.
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A solution always sought after…
While the French football body is currently considering the creation of a 100% Ligue 1 channel for €25 per month, beIN SPORT – which has just secured all the TV rights for this summer’s Euro in Germany – in fact, no longer seems really determined to position itself on the rights to the French championship, particularly after discussions with Canal +, which were considered unsuccessful. However, and despite interrupted negotiations, the LFP would not lose hope of reaching an agreement between the encrypted channel and that chaired by Nasser Al-Khelaïfi. But this is not the only problem… So, in addition to the artistic vagueness around the future broadcaster, the question of the distribution of future television rights for Ligue 1 also arises.
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In this context, The Team begins by recalling a first inevitable scenario, namely the drastic reduction in the final amount of domestic duties. And for good reason. From the 500 million euros now hoped for, it will be necessary to deduct the operating costs of the LFP but also the 5% intended for all amateur sports under the Buffet tax. In addition to various other aid intended for unions, the final amount will also be reduced by the first payment sent to CVC, the investment fund which enabled the creation of the commercial company of the League thanks to a contribution of 1.5 billion euros compared to 13% of its lifetime income.
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International rights revenues at the heart of negotiations
As a reminder, in 2024-2025, this percentage will even be around 20% since the fund will have to make up for the first two years in which it pocketed nothing. If the daily specifies that an arrangement could be negotiated at this level (re-discussed agreement or staggering of the bill), the French clubs hope, in any case, that certain levers will be found before recovering the maximum liquidity . From this perspective, the question of international rights could then constitute an alternative. Logically intended for clubs which have participated in European Cups over the last three seasons, the amounts linked to these rights could then be distributed more generally.
“On the part which concerns all clubs (domestic rights), revenues will fall and on the part reserved for a few (foreign rights), they will increase, that would not be totally stupid”, a person close to the matter told the French media. For this, the ten French clubs benefiting in 2024-2025 will have to agree to leave a share to teams that have not played in European competitions in the last three seasons. Negotiations which already promise to be more than delicate given the economic context and the various precedents on the issue. After the slump, still the slump.
Pub. THE 06/13/2024 5:01 p.m.
Update 06/13/2024 7:13 p.m.
