Top-flight French soccer sides pressurise LFP and BeIN to renegotiate €70m contract.
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Clubs in French soccer’s Ligue 1 are said to be unhappy with the value of the league’s international rights, according to a report in 20 Minutes.
The French daily newspaper claims that executives representing a number of clubs in France’s top flight are putting pressure on the French Professional Football League (LFP) and BeIN Sports, the media group responsible for marketing Ligue 1 rights overseas, to renegotiate the existing contract.
Under the terms of the current deal, which was first agreed back in 2011 and then extended until 2024 in 2014, Qatar-backed BeIN pays just €70 million (US$80 million) to Ligue 1 clubs from the sale of foreign TV rights. Any income earned over the guaranteed figure is then split between the league and BeIN.
The value of Ligue 1’s international rights pales in comparison with its European counterparts. Premier League clubs currently benefit from a share of US$1.5 billion, while La Liga’s overseas rights are valued at US$746 million. Serie A teams enjoy a share of US$425 million, while the Bundesliga’s international rights are valued at US$287 million.
Monaco vice president Vadim Vasyliev told 20 Minutes that the long-term contract agreed by the LFP with BeIN was “a mistake”, adding that “it must be changed for the interests of French football”.
Since the existing contract was agreed, interest in Ligue 1 has grown thanks to the heavy spending of Paris Saint-Germain, who are backed by Nasser Al-Khelaifi’s Qatar Sports Investments. The club now boasts global stars such as Brazil talisman Neymar and Uruguay striker Edinson Cavani, along with French teenage sensation Kylian Mbappe.
According to L’Equipe, the LFP has conducted a study into the value BeIN puts on Ligue 1’s international rights, finding that the media group currently sees rights in the Middle East, North Africa and the US to be worth €25 million (US$28.5 million). The LFP, however, found that the value of those rights should be around €64 million (US$73 million), representing a €39 million difference which would amount to €234 million in total over the remaining six years of the contract.
Ligue 1’s international rights are also lagging significantly behind the league’s domestic rights, which are valued at €1.153 billion (US$1.33 billion) per season after Mediapro and BeIN paid a record amount to secure the packages back in May.
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