The beIN Sports channel on Thursday appealed to Canal + before the commercial court of Nanterre (Hauts-de-Seine) in order to force it to respect the contract binding them for the broadcasting of two Ligue 1 matches per day for 332 million d ‘euros, we learned from a source close to the negotiations.
The encrypted channel, which has announced its willingness to withdraw from L1 since the Professional Football League (LFP) awarded 80% of matches to Amazon Prime in mid-June, has not honored a first installment of 500,000 euros to the Qatari channel, according to this source. “It is marginal compared to the contract but it is a first failure,” said the source.
“An economic distortion”
This non-payment is the first breach of the contract between the two broadcasters since 2018, contracted after the call for tenders of the LFP. At the time, the Sino-Spanish group Mediapro had won 80% of L1 matches for 780 million euros, and beIn Sports obtained lot 3 (two matches) for 332 million euros annually. She then sublicensed this lot to Canal +. But, since the failure of Mediapro, the cards have been redistributed: Canal + finds itself in a situation where it must pay 332 million euros for two matches per day of L1, and Amazon 259 million euros for 8 matches.
“It is an economic distortion that can not suit anyone,” analyzes a source close to the two broadcasters. Canal + is right to fight so that this is not allowed. The encrypted channel had sent a letter to beIN sports on Tuesday, explaining that it was suspending its sub-license agreement binding it with the Qatari channel.
Joined by AFP, neither Canal + nor beIN Sports wished for the moment to comment. On August 5, Canal + is supposed to make a second payment of several tens of millions of euros to beIN Sports, so that the Qatari channel then pays the LFP.