Canal Plus and beIN Sports seal non-exclusive deal

French pay-television broadcaster Canal Plus has agreed a non-exclusive distribution deal with rival operator beIN Sports, according to the BFM news website.

The agreement is a renewal of a deal that was originally struck in 2012, allowing Canal Plus to carry the beIN Sports channels.

In June, France’s competition regulator, l'Autorité de la Concurrence, blocked an exclusive carriage deal between the two parties.

In February, Canal Plus, which broadcasts domestic Ligue 1 football coverage, agreed to become the official carriage partner for beIN Sports’ channels in a five-year deal, from 2016 to 2020.

However, the regulator said the deal contravened a condition, introduced when TPS and CanalSat merged to form Canal Plus in 2012, that Canal Plus would not enter exclusive carriage deal.