Pay-television broadcaster beIN Sports has signed a six-year extension, covering the 2018-19 to 2023-24 seasons, for its global rights deal for Ligue 1, the top division of French football.
The Ligue de Football Professionnel, the French football league, said that the new contract would be worth a guaranteed minimum €480m ($657.6m) across the six seasons, or €80m per year, with any revenue generated above this figure shared on a 50-50 basis.
French newspaper L’Equipe added that the existing contract, which runs until the end of the 2017-18 season, is worth €32.5m per year.
The award of Ligue 1’s global rights has been announced after pay-television broadcaster Canal Plus in April acquired rights in France for the two main packages of the next cycle of domestic rights for the league, while beIN Sports acquired the other four packages.
The value of Ligue 1’s domestic rights will increase to €726.5m per season under the new deal – a 20-per-cent increase on the current cycle. The agreements will run for four years, from 2016-17 to 2019-20.