BeIN Sports has secured domestic broadcasting rights for Ligue 2 in a new multi-year deal that will span across five seasons.
The Qatari sports network’s deal with the French Professional Football League (LFP) will reportedly be worth €200m across the five years, ending in 2029 and will see Ligue 2 earn €40m-per-year.
BeIN Sports will commence broadcasting Ligue 2 fixtures during the upcoming 2024/25 season as the TV network picked up all broadcasting packages to become the exclusive home for the second-tier French league in France.
Yousef Al-Obaidly, President of beIN Sports France, stated: “We are very happy to renew the Ligue 2 BKT broadcasting contract until 2029 and allow our subscribers to have access to 100% of the exclusive matches.
“Since 2012, beIN SPORTS has proudly established itself as a leading sports distributor in France, offering a rich and varied catalogue of rights, based on reasoned and measured investments, reflecting our thoughtful and long-term strategy.”
As Al-Obaidly mentioned, BeIN Sports has been broadcasting Ligue 2 games since 2012. The TV station also held broadcasting rights for Ligue 1 for the past decade, but talks with the LFP in renewing broadcast rights for the top-flight French league have stalled.
BeIN Sports beat out previous rights holder Amazon Prime Video to secure Ligue 2 exclusivity and was determined to be the only broadcaster in France for the league after previously holding two broadcast rights packages alongside MediaPro.
The deal became a lot more seamless for the Qatari-based TV network after MediaPro axed its broadcasting agreement with the LFP.
Vincent Labrune, President of the LFP, added: “The allocation of all packages to BeIN Sports is excellent news for all Ligue 2 BKT clubs as well as their supporters, who will continue to benefit from remarkable expertise and coverage with all matches and magazines.”
Securing a broadcast deal for the Ligue 2 will be of great relief for the LFP, who can now prioritise a media deal for Ligue 1 after several months of uncertainty.
Talks broke down with incumbent partners last October after the LFP’s near €1bn valuation of Ligue 1 rights did not align with broadcasters.
If a broadcast deal is not finalised before the impending 2024/25 Ligue 1 season, the LFP have been considering launching a dedicated direct-to-consumer streaming platform, which would be a world-first in European football.
