Following months of uncertainty surrounding the domestic broadcasting rights for France’s top football division, Ligue 1, specialist sports streamer DAZN and Qatari-owned beIN Sports have emerged as the buyers for the next rights cycle. 

Under the deal, which runs from the start of the 2024/2025 season and kicks off in mid-August, DAZN is set to pay €400m per season to air eight fixtures per game week, while beIN Sports will show one fixture each round for €100m per season. With beIN Sports paying an additional €40m per season for exclusive Ligue 2 rights, and international rights set to contribute a further €160m per season, the total rights value of €700m falls significantly short of of the €1bn target that the French Football League (LFP) initially sought to get for the international and domestic rights.

Despite the LFP announcing an invitation to tender for the rights from 2024-2029 in September 2023, it has struggled to find a suitable buyer following controversy surrounding the previous rights cycle. Mediapro initially acquired the larger rights package to the league from 2020-2024 in a deal worth €784m per season, while Canal+ took the remaining two fixtures per week for €332m per season. After the deal with Mediapro collapsed, amid financial difficulties during the COVID-19 pandemic, Amazon acquired Mediapro’s share of games for a reduced fee of €250m per season, leaving Canal+ paying more for fewer fixtures. As a result, Canal+, which has held Ligue 1 rights since 1984, ruled itself out of the bidding in September 2023. 

The uncertainty surrounding the future of Ligue 1 broadcasting rights has been a major concern for participating clubs, as domestic broadcasting forms a significant portion of their revenues. But this impact will be felt unevenly across the league. According to Ampere’s Sports – Financials service, domestic broadcasting revenues accounted for only 8% of Paris Saint-Germain’s (PSG) total revenues in the 2022/2023 season, compared to 16% for Olympique de Marseille and 30% for Olympique Lyonnais, the second and third largest French clubs in terms of annual revenue. For smaller clubs, however, TV rights represent an even higher source of revenue; overall, broadcasting (domestic and international) accounted for 30% of Ligue 1 clubs’ revenues in 2022/23.

PSG, France’s biggest club, is less dependent on domestic broadcasting rights than its local competitors, primarily as a result of its substantial sponsorship deals. In 2024, these were valued at $446m (€415m), the highest of any sports team across Europe’s Big Five leagues. By comparison, Olympique de Marseille’ and Olympique Lyonnais’ sponsorship deals across 2024 are valued at $73m and $65m respectively. 

Remarkably, PSG’s sponsorship deals accounted for 55% of the total sponsorship value of all Ligue 1 teams in 2024. This is the highest share of a league’s sponsorship value held by a single team across Europe’s Big Five leagues; Barcelona and Read Madrid take a combined 52% of La Liga’s sponsorship value, while Manchester United, Manchester City and Liverpool take 48% of the Premier League’s sponsorship value. 

As PSG has been majority owned by Qatar Sports Investment, a fund backed by the Qatari government, since 2011, many of its sponsorship partners are also Qatari-backed entities, with a vested interest in the club’s success. Its partnership with Qatari Airways, another government- owned company, is worth $70m per year, making it PSG’s second most valuable partner after kit supplier Nike. 

Other French clubs will likely need to increase their sponsorship revenues in order to financially compete with clubs in other European leagues, and attract and retain top players. Showcasing top talent will, in turn, fuel interest at home and abroad in the league, generating more revenue and enhancing the league’s value to sponsors and broadcasters. However, following Kylian Mbappé’s move to Real Madrid this summer, Ligue 1 must look to achieve this without its star player.