Ligue 1 TV rights: towards a termination of the LFP-DAZN contract, before a partnership in a 100% Ligue 1 channel

Is there a way out of the crisis in French football? At the very least, there is a move toward a formal break in the saga between the Professional Football League and broadcaster DAZN . The two parties have reached an agreement to settle their legal "dispute," the LFP announced on Friday, May 2, without providing further details, following a board meeting.

According to several sources close to the matter, the deal provides for the payment of the last two installments owed by the British platform for this season (€140 million) and the end of the proceedings initiated by DAZN before the Paris Commercial Court.

The LFP and DAZN are also expected to finalize the termination of their contract, which was supposed to run until 2029, by the end of June, according to information from L'Equipe . The agreement on the disagreement was far from being sealed just a few weeks ago, as tensions and differences, particularly around financial compensation , were blocking negotiations.

Since the signing of the deal between the League and DAZN in July 2024 (€400 million annually for 8 matches broadcast per league day), relations had gradually become strained between the two parties. The British broadcaster was weakened by its excessively high rates , an insufficient number of subscribers (nearly 650,000 according to sources against 1.5 million hoped for) and the rise of piracy.

Legal proceedings between the two parties are still ongoing, with DAZN claiming no less than €573 million from the league "for observed breaches" and "deception on the goods." This means a less attractive French championship than expected.

But in a sign of a warming between the two parties, "the payment date of the April 30 deadline" by the broadcaster, of 70 million euros owed to the League for this season, "has been postponed by a few days by mutual agreement between DAZN and the LFP, as part of the constructive discussions we are conducting," the British company announced. The sum should be paid this Friday.

The strange relationship between the league and the broadcaster may not be over yet. At its board meeting, the LFP outlined what appears to be a project for a channel that it would broadcast starting next season - so this summer, in effect. A project that the LFP could involve... DAZN, which has said it is ready to "invest." "As part of the ongoing discussions" on the dispute, "we have responded to the League's channel project," the platform confirmed on Wednesday, proposing to invest €100 million in the project over the first two seasons. This Friday, the LFP's board of directors is due to rule on DAZN's investment proposal.

The appointment of Nicolas de Tavernost as CEO of LFP Media, the league's subsidiary that markets the TV rights to the French championship, is not unrelated to this planned exit from the crisis. The arrival of the former M6 boss has helped accelerate discussions in recent weeks.

As it has been insisting for months, the British platform has explained that it wants to "remain in France within a viable economic framework for the success of French football and all its stakeholders." In other words, DAZN wants to continue its investments in the French landscape, but on a different basis than that concluded in July 2024 with the LFP.

"We didn't come to France to leave after a year, nor to lose money ," DAZN said. "The proposals we've made over the past four or five months to the Professional Football League are designed to build a viable project over the long term, for the LFP, the clubs, and football fans."

The idea of ​​an internal LFP channel, conceived to avoid a black screen during the difficult choice of Ligue 1 broadcaster last summer, had never been completely abandoned by its leaders. By force of circumstance, this project has become a topical issue again for the league, faced with a complicated TV rights market and DAZN's unexpected about-face during the season.

It remains to be seen who could partner with the emerging channel by the end of the summer. "This channel will be in partnership with a player whose name we don't know because we don't have the right to test the market until there is an agreement with DAZN," explains a source close to the negotiations. "If the LFP reaches an agreement with DAZN, it will turn to the various players in the market, BeIN, Canal, Amazon, Disney and DAZN obviously to find out who the best partner is for it." After the Mediapro fiasco in 2020 and the new failure this year, we must not make a mistake this time.