Canal+ has picked up the extra games available for the French top division
Ligue 1 has agreed a deal with Canal+ to air the remainder of this season’s matches.
The broadcaster is stepping in after the organisation’s original deal with Mediapro fell through. It had been planned to run until 2024, and it is still unclear what the league will do after the end of the current campaign.
Mediapro had owned 80% of the rights, with Canal+ in control of the other 20%.
According to reports in France, the latter is now stepping up to show the entire schedule - paying an extra €35 million (£30.76m) on top of its original €330 million (£290m) media rights deal.
OTT platforms such as Amazon Prime Video, Discovery+ and DAZN had reportedly failed to meet the asking price for the rights earlier last week.
While the deal means that Ligue 1 and 2 do have a broadcaster now, it likely also means confirmation of a financial loss for the two divisions’ clubs. This is possibly extra disappointing for the teams after the original Mediapro agreement appeared to put them on level-footing with the likes of La Liga, the Bundesliga, and Serie A.
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