By confirming its agreements with DAZN and beIN Sports on Thursday, the Professional Football League is ending a never-ending soap opera over the allocation of broadcasting rights for Ligue 1, which resumes in two weeks. Here’s what you need to know.
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After months of psychodrama, the Ligue 1 television rights saga is finally over.The Professional Football League (LFP) confirmed on Thursday, August 1, that it had concluded agreements with the British platform DAZN and the Qatari channel beIN Sports for the rights to the French championship for the period 2024-2029.
Football fans will therefore be able to subscribe to one of the two channels if they wish to continue following Ligue 1, which was broadcast last season by Amazon Prime and Canal+. Franceinfo takes stock of the prices announced by DAZN and beIN Sports, as the season begins on Friday, August 16.
The British platform, little known in France, has made a big splash by winning the broadcast of eight of the nine Ligue 1 matches, for an average amount of around 400 million euros per year. DAZN unveiled its pricing structure on Thursday, August 1, with a subscription at 29.99 euros to watch eight matches of the French championship. This formula, called “Unlimited”, also allows you to watch the rest of the platform’s catalog, including Betclic Elite (the first division of French basketball) and PFL, one of the MMA leagues. Important clarification: future subscribers will have to sign up for a one-year commitment to benefit from this rate.
DAZN also offers a “SuperSports” package, at 14.99 euros per month with a one-year commitment. For this price, subscribers will be entitled to one match per day of Ligue 1, as well as the rest of the platform’s catalog. DAZN did not specify which match would be broadcast in this offer, nor if it will be possible to watch only one team. The announcement of these prices has led to many negative comments on social networks, most of which point the finger at the proposed price.
The Qatari channel, established in France since 2012, won the broadcast of one match per game, the one on Saturday at 5 p.m. BeIN Sports and DAZN will alternately broadcast the best match, a system that was agreed with the Professional Football League (LFP). The Qatari channel, however, has not announced a change in pricing. You will therefore still have to pay 15 euros per month, without commitment, to subscribe to beIN.
In football, the channel also offers Ligue 2, the Coupe de France, as well as La Liga (Spanish championship) and the Bundesliga (German championship). It also has many multi-sport rights, including the NBA and the NFL (American football). Ligue 1 followers will therefore have to spend a total of 45 euros per month to follow the entire 2024-2025 season.