December 2 – Illegal streams of professional football have long been a thorn in the side of broadcasters. In France that has been taken to a new level according to stark new findings presented by LFP Media, the commercial entity of the Professional Football League (LFP).
In the recent La Classique, between Marseille and Paris Saint-Germain, over half watched the game on pirate streams.
Arcom, the French media regulator claims that illegal streaming is potentially costing the sports sector and Ligue 1 rights-holders beIN Sports, and recent market entrant DAZN, €290 million per year and deprives the French state of an annual sum of €420 million in terms of social and tax revenues.
LFP chief executive, Ben Morel, who is soon to leave his post, described piracy as “an ultra-priority subject” that has created a “very worrying situation” and a “dangerous tipping point”.
With the domestic rights in France currently in turmoil, both beIN Sports and DAZN are stalling on a new deal, with the former even delaying payments. Illegal streaming has left LFP Media facing a “phenomenon of unprecedented magnitude” since the start of this season amid the rising uptake in pirate feeds, according to Morel.
DAZN has the majority of matches under a five-year deal worth a reported €400 million a season, which will end after the 2028-29 campaign. The heavily pirated Marseille-PSG match on October 27 was shown exclusively by DAZN.
Fans have been critical of the platform though, citing a too-high price point. DAZN responded by introducing a ‘Black Friday’ monthly tariff of €14.99 if customers sign up by December 2. Building the subscriber base has been the major challenge, with the broadcaster telling L’Equipe that it had set a target of 1.5 million subscribers in France within six months.
La Classique, is the biggest game in French football so it wasn’t a surprise that piracy was rampant despiteArcom blocking 340 illegal domain names before kick-off.
Pauline Combredet-Blassel, Arcom’s deputy general director, said: “We have blocked more than 1,600 [illegal streaming sites] since the beginning of 2024, but the question is whether this will be enough.”
Apparently, it isn’t!
Contact the writer of this story, Nick Webster, at moc.l1734877873labto1734877873ofdlr1734877873owedi1734877873sni@o1734877873fni1734877873