French Ligue 1 clubs vote to break TV deal with DAZN
French Ligue 1 clubs on Tuesday voted in favour of breaking their domestic television deal with DAZN at the end of this season, leaving them facing an uncertain future.
The broadcaster rejected a proposal from the league, whose clubs voted for the large part in favour of ending the deal after the breakdown in relations between the two parties.
Advertisement
The decision by the clubs plunges the league deeper into a crisis which has been ongoing for several years, since Spanish company Mediapro pulled out of a record broadcast deal in 2020, just months after it came into effect.
The DAZN deal was only agreed last July, a couple of weeks ahead of this season starting, with the British streaming platform replacing previous rights holders Canal Plus and Amazon.
DAZN has been showing eight out of nine Ligue 1 matches per week, with Qatar's beIN Sports broadcasting the other game, for the total combined price of 500 million euros ($564m) annually.
That represented a significant reduction from the previous deal, worth 624 million euros a year.
Advertisement
DAZN is due to pay 400 million euros per year, with the contract in place until 2029, but the agreement allows either party to back out at the end of next season.
The French league (LFP) said in a statement that it expected its broadcast partner "to continue to carry out all of its obligations" for the time being.
It said that mediation between the parties, which started last month, had not enabled them to find a solution to their differences.
DAZN was late in paying an instalment of 35 million euros at the beginning of this year and is due to pay two more instalments worth a total of 140 million euros, at the end of this month and in June.
Advertisement
- Compensation -
The league voted in favour of breaking the contract and proposing a financial compensation package to DAZN, of 140 million euros at the end of the season and between 110-125 million euros for next season, sources with knowledge of the discussions told AFP.
That proposal was turned down by DAZN, which is seeking some 573 million euros from the LFP for what it sees as not fulfilling the obligations of their contract.
DAZN is understood to only have around 500,000 paying subscribers to its Ligue 1 coverage and blames the league for not doing more to block illegal streaming sites.
It also says certain clubs have not cooperated in helping them make their product more attractive, for example by blocking requests for access.
Advertisement
The situation leaves the clubs, already in a fragile position financially, facing up to a difficult future.
They are dependent on income from television, but have no clear idea what that income will be for the foreseeable future.
Fans, meanwhile, do not know for certain how they will be able to watch matches after the end of this season.
The French league's domestic broadcast deal is worth considerably less than its major European rivals, most notably the English Premier League.
Certain clubs have pushed for the league to set up its own streaming service, although one source close to the discussions acknowledged that would offer very little guaranteed income initially.
ali-bap/pga/cpb/as/mw
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
San Francisco Chronicle
11 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Social media abuse in German soccer follows alleged racist incidents in stadiums
MAINZ, Germany (AP) — As German soccer investigates two incidents in which players were allegedly subjected to racist abuse by fans in the stadium, more players have faced abusive messages online. The day after its 1-0 win in a German Cup game against Dynamo Dresden, Mainz said Tuesday it plans to support its players in taking legal action against users who sent abusive messages. The club published screenshots of a racist message targeting French winger Arnaud Nordin, who is Black, and one containing sexist and xenophobic insults aimed at the mother of German midfielder Nadiem Amiri, who is of Afghan heritage. There are 'no more words for people like this,' Amiri, who scored the game's only goal, wrote over a screenshot of the message. 'There is no place among us for racism, agitation and hate on the Internet, in the stadium, or anywhere else,' Mainz wrote. In another incident, Rot-Weiss Essen disabled the comment section on an Instagram post about its 1-0 loss Monday to Borussia Dortmund, reportedly following repeated racist messages aimed at its player Kelsey Owusu, following a tackle which left Dortmund's Yan Couto hurt. 'I find it so despicable, some of the comments which are directed at people,' his coach Uwe Koschinat said after the game. The German soccer federation said Monday it was investigating two incidents in which players were allegedly subjected to racist abuse by people in the stadium during other German Cup games. FIFA President Gianni Infantino condemned the incidents as 'unacceptable'. Police were investigating at least one of the incidents. ___
Yahoo
18 minutes ago
- Yahoo
U.K. 30-Year Yield Tops U.S. as Pressure Mounts on Government Borrowing
The U.K.'s fragile fiscal situation is back in focus as yields on long-term government bonds surged, topping their U.S. counterparts for the first time this century. The 30-year U.K. government bond offered a yield of 5.61% at press time. That's 68 basis points more than the 30-year U.S. Treasury yield according to data source TradingView. The widening gap means that the market is demanding a significant premium to hold U.K. debt versus Treasury notes, a sign that investors are becoming increasingly wary about the U.K.'s fiscal situation. The U.K. gilt market (bond market) has taken on a life of its own, as the country faces structural, long-term economic challenges that it has built up over decades; yet, this is not a uniquely British issue. Japan, the EU, and the U.S. have also seen bond yields rise as debt burdens and inflation pressures mount. This indebtedness of the advanced world supports the bullish case for perceived store-of-value assets like bitcoin (BTC) and gold. Focus on U.K. inflation report Wednesday's U.K. inflation report is critical for bond markets. The data is expected to show that both the headline consumer price index (CPI) and core CPI remained well above the 2% target in July, according to data source Trading Economics. The headline CPI is expected to be 3.7% year-over-year (up from the previous 3.6%), while core inflation is forecast to remain at 3.7% (unchanged from the prior month). The data will hit the wires just weeks after the Bank of England cut rates to 4%. Expectations for sticky inflation couldn't have come at a worse time, as the GDP growth has weakened and unemployment has begun to edge higher from secular lows. Repeat of 2022 crisis? A hot inflation report could only worsen the debt-bond dynamics by accelerating the uptrend in yields. This calls for both crypto and traditional market traders to remain vigilant for a 2022-style volatility in the U.K. markets. The hardening of the 30-year gilt yield, representing the long end of the curve, played a big role in the liability-driven investment (LDI) pension crisis of 2022, which erupted under Liz Truss. The longer duration yield is now testing the upper bound of a long-term trend and could rise to 5.7%, the highest level since May 1998. LDI strategies use leverage to hedge pension liabilities. When gilt yields spiked in 2022, collateral calls led to a mass sale of gilts, creating a feedback loop that threatened financial stability. That prompted the Bank of England to intervene with emergency purchases to prevent a systemic crisis. If Wednesday's inflation report runs hotter than expected, gilt yields could break new highs, putting further pressure on the government and raising the risk of another LDI-style crisis. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
25 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Switzerland is considering joining 'dirty money' task force, UK official says
By Sam Tabahriti LONDON (Reuters) -Switzerland is considering joining a British-led international task force targeting kleptocrats and recovering stolen assets, a British government official said, as it seeks to shake off its reputation as a haven for dirty money. Foreign minister David Lammy discussed the International Anti-Corruption Coordination (IACCC) with the Swiss government during a visit to the country earlier this month, according to the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. The Swiss government did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Joining the task force would allow Swiss authorities to share intelligence and work more closely with other countries on major investigations targeting dirty money. Lammy told Reuters that Switzerland is "a key partner in the fight against illicit finance and corruption" and its participation in the IACCC would be "invaluable". Switzerland, the world's largest manager of offshore wealth, has tried to shed its image as a safe haven for illicit funds and has recently taken steps to improve transparency, including proposing stricter rules on beneficial ownership. The IACCC task force was launched in 2017 and is hosted by Britain's National Crime Agency (NCA). It brings together enforcement bodies from countries including the United States, Australia, Canada and New Zealand to share intelligence and coordinate investigations. Since it was founded, it has identified 1.8 billion pounds in suspected stolen funds, and frozen 641 million pounds of assets, the IACCC says. Britain has ramped up its efforts to tackle illicit finance since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. It has positioned itself as a leader in the global fight against kleptocracy, but it still faces its own challenges on that front. The NCA estimates that over 100 billion pounds ($135.32 billion) is laundered through or within the UK each year, often via British-registered corporate structures. ($1 = 0.7390 pounds)
