Even if he had boasted about the agreement made with Mediapro a few years ago, Jean-Michel Aulas admitted his mistake and now the former boss of OL wants Canal+ and Beinsports to return to Ligue 1.
“ It’s a blessed day for French professional football.” On May 30, 2018, the then president of Lyon welcomed the agreement signed with Mediapro for the rights to Ligue 1, thus putting an end to the presence of Canal+ in the deal. Seven years later, the French championship is awaiting an offer which would avoid the current fiasco, namely that the L1 does not have a broadcaster two months before the resumption of the 2024-2025 season . Asked in Progress on this inevitably critical situation for Olympique Lyonnais, where he is still a shareholder, but also for the entire Ligue 1, Jean-Michel Aulas thinks that it is now time to do everything to encourage Canal+ and Beinsports to once again become the exclusive broadcasters of the French championship, even if it means making efforts on the price and duration of the contract.
An ideal contract to bring Canal+ back to Ligue 1
Indeed, Jean-Michel Aulas no longer believes at all in the billion euros per year, and barely more in the 500 million euros, and the idea of a deal until 2029 is also moving away. “ What do I want? I may be old-fashioned but I say what I think. I would find it great if BeIN Sport and Canal + found what allowed French football to develop. They both have the stature and the means to find this solution. On the other hand, perhaps, the leaders of the LFP must agree to say that there has been too much optimism, and therefore to find an average solution. We are lucky to have international TV rights which were 70ME last year, and there are already 160ME acquired. McDonald’s also arrives as a “namer”, with equally superior means… There are resources, but you have to sit around the table with entrepreneurs who aim for the optimal solution. Even if it is difficult, not all the levers have been activated. Perhaps we will have to agree not to go where Vincent Labrune initially thought he was going. This is why I mentioned a possibility of reducing the duration of this call for tenders, before updating according to the parameters », Warns the vice-president of the French Football Federation, aware that without Canal+ the future of Ligue 1 risks being very complicated. For his part, Maxime Saada has still not moved a finger, even if he has made it clear that he does not want the death of the L1.
