The relationship between beIN Sports and France's top football division is coming to an end once again. The broadcaster, a historic partner of Ligue 1 since its French launch in 2012, has decided to halt its partnership with the league's commercial arm, LFP Media. This decision follows a season where the channel found itself at odds with the programming constraints outlined in its diffusion contract, a contract signed in the summer of 2024.
The situation escalated after the sudden departure of rival broadcaster DAZN last season. beIN Sports subsequently approached LFP Media to discuss several key issues. According to Florent Houzot, the director of editorial and programming at beIN, these discussions centered on three main themes. First, the broadcaster sought to ease its scheduling restrictions, such as the rule preventing it from showing the same team more than eight times in a season or programming the same club in consecutive weeks.
Secondly, beIN proposed discussing the co-broadcasting of the ninth match of each Ligue 1 round on the league's own channel, Ligue 1+. The third proposal involved allowing beIN to produce the league's channel content. Houzot argued this would be more cost-effective than hiring an external production company, as beIN already possessed the necessary infrastructure, journalists, and consultants.
Addressing the media, Houzot pushed back against narratives of a severe rift. "Some say we are in open conflict with LFP Media, that's false," he stated during a press briefing. "We simply have a commercial dispute over our lot, our Ligue 1 match, which was paid for at 78.5 million euros per season." He further clarified that it is not beIN that is in legal proceedings with the LFP, but rather the league that has recently been in disputes with multiple broadcasters, naming Canal+, DAZN, and Mediapro alongside beIN.
Houzot emphasized that the broadcaster chose not to participate in the call for tenders for production services because it views itself as a partner, not merely a service provider. "A partner isn't just someone who signs you a check and whom you then spit in the face," he remarked, underscoring a perceived breakdown in the collaborative relationship.
This marks another chapter in the turbulent broadcast history of Ligue 1. beIN Sports had been a consistent presence, with the exception of the 2020-2024 period, and its latest withdrawal highlights ongoing challenges in securing stable, long-term media partnerships for the French championship. The commercial disagreement over a single match package worth nearly 80 million euros annually appears to be the final straw for the Qatari-owned network.
Based on reporting from Foot - actualités, mercato, info & vidéo en continu.