February 17 – In the latest broadcast crisis in French football, the Professional Football League (LFP) has taken legal action against rights-holder DAZN over withheld payments.
The streaming platform withheld half of its €70 million payment for Ligue 1, prompting the LFP to sue.
In a statement, the LFP said: “The LFP, for its part, scrupulously respects all of its contractual commitments and will do everything possible to assert its rights. In particular, the LFP has decided to refer the matter to the interim relief judge in order to urgently obtain an order against DAZN to pay the amounts stipulated in the contract and an injunction to perform all of its contractual obligations.”
“The LFP intends to firmly defend the interests of French professional clubs, while hoping for an amicable outcome to this dispute, which it hopes will be temporary.”
DAZN argues that the league has not done enough to combat piracy.
The London-based streaming service began a four-year deal worth €400 million this season. The agreement grants DAZN the rights to up to nine live Ligue 1 fixtures each weekend. Qatar’s beIN Sports investing €100 million a season to broadcast other Saturday fixtures.
However, DAZN may have overplayed its hand in France with subscriptions well below the target figure of 1.5 million required to breakeven.
Last month, DAZN again reported a loss of more than a €1 billion with owner Len Blavatnik pumping another €800 million into the company.
SURJ, an arm of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, has paid $ 1billion for a 10% stake in the business, a figure that corresponds with what DAZN will pay for the broadcast rights of the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup.
DAZN could become the latest media operator to leave French football in disarray following on the exit of Mediapro and its bumper deal with the LFP in 2018 that collapsed after just a few months.
The deal between the LFP and DAZN was significantly down from the previous broadcast deal with Amazon and Canal+. Amazon stepped away from the deal after two years.
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