World Soccer - UK (2021-10)

(Antfer) #1

F


ollowinga yearof
uncertainty, legal
battlesandfinancial
strife,streaming
serviceAmazonPrime
Videohavefinally
endedLigue1’s
televisionbroadcastrightsdebacle.
Atthe startoflastseason,Spanish
broadcasterMediaproleda€1.1billion
per-seasonagreement– thesecond-
biggestdomesticTVrights deal after
thePremierLeague’s–thatwasseen
asa watershedmomentforLigue1.But
Mediapro’sstreamingservice, Telefoot,
quicklycollapsed,withsubscriptions
fallingshortofambitiousprojections.
Althougha temporary arrangement
wasfoundwithCanalPlustocover the
restofthe 2 02 0-2 1 campaign,thefinal
three seasonsofthe four-yearblock
remainedinfluxastheLFPsearched
foranewleadbroadcaster.
Amazon’slast-minutebidsecured
broadcastrightsforMediapro’s initial 80
percentshareof Ligue1 andLigue 2
matches.Buttheiragreementtoshow
eightgamesperweekfor€ 300 million
peryearreducedthe overallpackageby
42 per cent,leavingCanalPluspaying
€330mforjusttwogamesperround,
anagreementleft over from theinitial
dealwith Mediapro.
Canal,meanwhile,werefuriousto
belockedinto theiroriginalpricein
spiteofwhattheysaw as an obvious
devaluationofthe product,andinitially
refusedtopay theirshareto beIN
Sports,fromwhomtheysub-licence
therights.A court battleensued.
AlthoughCanaleventually agreedto
respecttheir initialagreement,both
broadcastersjointlymadea complaint
tothe EuropeanCommissionover
theLFP’shandlingofthesaga.
AmazonPrime,whohaveadded
ThierryHenry to theirpunditry team,
willcharge€ 12 .99permonthfor
accesstotheirshareof Ligue1 games,
ontop of the€6 permonth required
tobea Primecustomer. Amarked
decreaseonthe monthly€24.9 9
Telefootchargedlast season.
Ina typicalpieceofbad timingfor
theLFP, afinal agreementwas sorted
justdaysbeforeLionelMessi’s arrivalat
PSG,a move thatshouldhaveboosted
thepricesignificantly. Nevertheless,the
securityofa broadcast dealwillbe a

relieftoLigue 1 clubswho’vestruggled
desperatelyinthelast 1 8 months,
particularlyBordeaux,whoendedlast
seasononthevergeofbankruptcy.
LuxembourgbusinessmanGerard
LopezsuccessfullyrescuedLes
Girondinsfromfinancialoblivionlast
month,despite beingforcedoutofLille
lastChristmasforfailingtopaydebtsto
USinvestmentfundElliott Management.
Followingthesuddenwithdrawalof

supportfrompreviousinvestorsKing
Streetattheendoflastseason,
Bordeaux’sverysurvivalwas at stake,
havingbeenplacedundertheprotection
ofa commercialcourt pending
administration.
Havingbarelymaintained their

top-flightstatusonthe pitchlastseason,
Bordeauxwereevenprovisionally
relegated by French football’sstrict
financialwatchdog,theDNCG,dueto
thegapingholeintheirbudget,though
Lopezwasabletosuccessfullyconvince
theDNCGof hisnewproject’svalidity
uponappealandoverturnthedecision.
Hisnextmovewasto replace head
coachJean-LouisGassetwithVladimir
Petkovic, freshfromguiding Switzerland
tothe quarter-finals
ofEuro 2 02 0.
Aswellas
suggestinghe
wouldrectify some
unpopulardecisions
byKingStreet,
includingrestoring
theclub’s formerbadgeandfullname,
Lopezstatedhewantedtoinstila
“mindsetand cultureof winning.Wewill
aimfor thetophalfof theLigue 1 table
andtoplayinEuropewithinthreeyears.”
Despitethesecurityofferedby the
newdeal,Bordeauxandthe majority
ofLigue1remainundersignificant
financialstrainduetothediminished
natureof theagreement,withtransfer
expenditure heavilyreducedthis
summer. PSGmighthavesignedMessi
andmade himthehighest-paidplayer
inthe world,butthe financialrealities
ofthe clubschasingtheminLigue 1
remainsmarkedlydifferent.
AdamWhiteforGFFN

22 WLD SCCE


Newarrivals...
Bordeaux’s new
coachVladimir
Petkovic(left)
withclubpresident
Gerard Lopez (right)

Resolution...Amazon’s
latebidprovideda
solutionfor theLFP

Thesecurityofabroadcastdealwillbearelief
toLigue 1 clubs...particularlyBordeaux,who
endedlastseasononthevergeofbankruptcy

Ligue 1

Financialdisasteravertedforboththeleagueand

GirondinsdeBordeaux,butproblemsstillremain

Headliners
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