Pay-television broadcaster Canal Plus’s bid to postpone a media rights tender launched by the Ligue de Football Professionnel (LFP), the French football league, was dismissed today (Friday) by the country’s Tribunal de Grande Instance law court.
Canal Plus had complained that the launch of the tender for rights covering four seasons, from 2016-17 to 2019-20, of the top-tier Ligue 1 and second-tier Ligue 2, was unreasonably early. The broadcaster, which is a rights-holder of Ligue 1 coverage in the current cycle, had not expected the next cycle of rights to be put on the market for another two years.
“We were certain of our rights,” LFP president Frédéric Thiriez said today. “The tender process will be able to proceed as planned under air and transparent conditions.”
The LFP launched the tender earlier this month and bidding for a total of six multi-platform packages will take place between April 2 and April 4.