The collapse of a television deal has caused serious
problems for Ligue 1, emphasising the reliance of football on broadcasting
rights.
The deal would have been worth £670 million annually
across Ligue 1. Mediapro, the company looking to make a splash by wrestling
packages away from long-term broadcaster Canal+, made one payment of £130
million last August before defaulting on the rest when subscriber numbers
dramatically undershot their expectations.
That left black holes on balance sheets across the country,
and even though Amazon Prime emerged into the market last month to agree fresh
terms, the deficit has only been partially closed. They paid just £215 million
a year for the same number of Ligue 1 games as Mediapro had planned (eight per
week) — a reduction on the previous deal of more than two-thirds.
The issue is compounded because Canal+ are taking legal
action over the sale of those rights. A partner since 1984, they were not given
chance by Ligue 1 to submit a fresh bid and are instead stuck paying inflated
fees for their package (£283 million per year for two games each week), which
was driven up by Mediapro’s original offer. As Canal+ press ahead with suing
Ligue 1, the financial horizons appear even more uncertain.
French football has always seen player trading as a
significant revenue stream but now, at certain top-flight teams, the pressure
is becoming acute, and Premier League clubs are scanning to see if extra value
can be gained from acting in this window.
A senior source at a Ligue 1 side says: “French clubs in
general are very dependent on player sales to balance the budget. This was the
case before the pandemic and before the TV rights’ crisis. Now the situation is
more unbalanced.” I would add that
clubs across Europe have become more reliant on the volatile revenue source of
player sales.
The financial regulatory body for clubs in France’s top two
divisions, the Direction Nationale du Controle de Gestion (DNCG), is taking a hard
stance on finances, sending a letter this summer to all teams stating
categorically it wants books to be balanced during the summer. Those who do not
comply face the prospect of an owner being forced to put a deposit down to
guarantee their club can reach the end of the season. “If guarantees are not
given, the club will not be allowed to start the league,” a source says. “There
is, therefore, a hugely pressing need for most French clubs to sell players
this summer.”
The DNCG took dramatic action last week by relegating Angers
and Bordeaux, who have been in administration, over financial concerns. Both
are appealing the verdict. There are also worries about St Etienne.
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