Broadcasting rights for leagues all around the world have turned out to be quite lucrative for the competitions, and it seems like Ligue 1 officers want a piece of that pie.
The league has revealed its plans to change its broadcasting rights' cycle from four to five years, in order to make it more appealing to TV companies and streaming platforms to invest in their TV or streaming rights.
According to a source from the league speaking to L'Equipe, tournament execs believe that longer arrangements will "increase revenue and help them narrow the gap between them and leagues from England, Spain, Italy, and Germany," who have more lucrative deals than the French top-flight.
The source from the league hints that longer deals will give those companies that invest in their games more time to create a loyal audience, meaning more subscriptions and more money to be shared among Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 teams year after year.
Another advantage of longer deals would go for the customer, who would not be forced to change subscriptions to pay-tv carriers or streaming services frequently in order to watch their favorite local teams. The main issue for the league right now would be to convince French ministers that these benefits will be long-term and for all parties involved, not only for league execs and teams.
The domestic broadcasting rights for Ligue 1 are held currently by Amazon Prime Video and Canal+, but their deals are set to expire when the 2023-24 season comes to a close. Speaking of international coverage, beIN Sports markets TV and streaming rights for the league, but LFP execs believe they can make more money out of that deal, which means they could be earning over €1B for their broadcasting rights across the globe and locally.
