Canal+ has pulled out of the process to become Ligue 1‘s distribution partner for its new dedicated direct-to-consumer (DTC) streaming service.
According to a report from L’Equipe, Canal+ was approached by the French Professional Football League (LFP) over a distribution deal which would see the French broadcaster distribute the new Ligue 1 streaming service and co-broadcast a Sunday evening game.
The LFP was seeking upwards of €200m per year for Canal+ to distribute the streaming service, but Canal+ was only willing to offer €100m, ultimately pulling out of any potential agreement. Canal+ CEO Maxime Saada told L’Equipe “the conditions were not right”.
Ligue 1 will become the first major European football league to have a dedicated DTC streaming platform once a partner is found, covering all 306 games next season.
With the 2025/26 Ligue 1 starting on August 17, this gives the LFP seven weeks to find a distribution partner, with names such as Amazon Prime Video, Orange and surprisingly DAZN, being reported as potential suitors.
Ligue 1’s whirlwind broadcast landscape
The top-flight French football league finds itself in a similar situation a year prior. The LFP was seeking a new domestic broadcast rights deal until the eleventh hour before the 2024/25 season began, as its valuation was not met.
Ligue 1 finally agreed a four-year broadcast rights agreement with DAZN and BeIN Sports worth €400m per year. DAZN held rights to broadcast eight out of nine games each matchweek, while BeIN Sports covered one per week.
However, DAZN began to withhold payments from the league due to a belief the LFP and Ligue 1 were not playing a role in fighting piracy of its league broadcasts, as well as other editorial frustrations.
The LFP in turn took legal action against DAZN as it withheld the remaining €140m it owed for the rest of the 2024/25 season; a mediator intervened, and the league’s domestic broadcast rights deal collapsed with DAZN exiting the agreement after just one year.
Despite the collapse in relations DAZN could become the streaming platform’s distribution partner should it chose to re-enter a relationship with the league.
Upon losing its four-year contract with the league, DAZN issued a statement alluding to the plans to launch the Ligue 1 DTC streaming service, but also remained interested in working with the league again.
“There is an option to exit the contract that binds us to the league, because it wants to launch its channel project. This will give back its freedom to the LFP to launch its own 100% Ligue 1 antenna next season by probing the market to find a partner. DAZN is clearly positioned to be that one,” said the statement.
“Leaving the clubs in the unknown with a chain project that does not yet have the beginning of something concrete seems extremely adventurous to us three and a half months before the start of the championship. We are ready to invest a hundred million euros for this channel.”
It is currently unclear yet whether DAZN have held talks with LFP officials over a distribution deal or whether it would be prepared to offer the €200m per year the LFP is seeking.
