Candidate for the presidency of the LFP last September, Cyril Linette did not mince his words to describe the economic state of Ligue 1. According to him, it is catastrophic and the situation is not ready to improve. arrange with DAZN.
Cyril Linette is now a name known to everyone. The only opponent of Vincent Labrune for the presidency of the LFP in September, the 54-year-old man did not beat the former leader of OM, but that does not prevent him from having a clear opinion on the League 1. In the show Les Grandes Gueules du Sport on RMC, the former sports director of Canal+ did not mince his words concerning the failed debut of DAZN, almost exclusive broadcaster of the French championship since this season and until in 2029. According to him, French football is clearly threatened in the medium term: “Canal has 5 million subscribers. DAZN is 400,000. It's not very complicated to make the report. Basically, the Ligue 1 audience has roughly been divided by ten, at least, compared to 7-8 years ago. And this is not DAZN's last choice, it is changes in broadcasters over the last six years which have led to changing broadcasters four times, and each time moving towards a broadcaster with a subscriber base of lower and lower”he analyzes.
Cyril Linette worried about the future of Ligue 1
Also having worked for L'Equipe and RMC in his rich career, Cyril Linette believes that DAZN, which is very far from its forecast number of subscribers a few months ago, will cause the death of Ligue 1: “Ligue 1 is in mortal danger. Also think about collective subscriptions. My son wanted to watch the Classic in a bar in Paris on Sunday, but he couldn't find any. No Parisian bar has collectively subscribed to DAZN. It was also a major consumption of football and major Ligue 1 matches. It’s catastrophic,” he conceded. The rising sports platform in Europe has acquired the rights to the French championship for 400 million euros annually for five seasons, but is struggling to convince fans of French football to subscribe. A TV rights crisis has already occurred this summer, and several elite clubs have not spent a single cent in the transfer window because of it. An event which could well be the first in a long series for elite teams.
