BeIN Sports is seeking to make Canal+ respect the agreement and pay for the broadcast of the two Ligue 1 matches each week.
BeIN Sports has filed a case against Canal+ at the Nanterre Court of Commerce for failing to honour the terms of a contract that deals with the Ligue 1 games. A hearing is scheduled for July 20.
BeIN Sports is seeking to make Canal+ respect the agreement and pay for the broadcast of the two Ligue 1 matches per week which it sublicensed for €332m.
Canal+, which decided to withdraw from Ligue 1 following the French Professional League LFP licensing 80% of the Ligue 1 rights to Amazon Prime Video, hasn’t honoured the first €500,000 payment to beIN Sports, while the second one is scheduled for early August.
The pay-TV channel argues there is a competition distortion as it needs to pay €332m for two daytime matches per year, while Amazon will pay €259m annually for eight matches.
In 2018, the Chinese-Spanish group Mediapro set off a rights increase, agreeing to pay €780m for 80% of the Ligue 1 rights. BeIN Sports won two-third batch matches for €332m a year, which were later on sublicensed to Canal+. Since then, the situation has changed.
Following the cancellation of Mediapro’s deal in December 2020, Canal+ called for a re-tender of the third batch. The LFP eventually initiated a tender process in January 2021 covering 80% of Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 matches, excluding batch 3.
Canal+ wrote to beIN Sports on July 13 expressing its wish to suspend its sublicensing contract.
