Canal Plus has called for rival pay-television broadcaster beIN Sports to be barred from competing in the tender for the next cycle of domestic rights to the top tier of French football, Ligue 1.
According to French newspaper Les Echos, Canal Plus has submitted a note to the French government claiming that beIN Sports should be blocked from acquiring rights, to run from the 2016-17 season, due to a conflict of interest.
Canal Plus’s note said that beIN Sports would “combine the qualities of the seller and buyer of audiovisual rights to Ligue 1.” Qatar’s ruling family controls the Qatar Investment Authority, which is the majority owner of leading Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain, as well as Al Jazeera, the parent company of beIN Sports.
Canal Plus wants France’s state council to adopt a decree to block beIN Sports from acquiring the rights. French newspaper l’Equipe noted that Canal Plus owned Paris Saint-Germain and was the exclusive live domestic rights-holder of Ligue 1 until the broadcaster sold the club in 2006.
Ligue 1’s live domestic rights for four years, from 2012-13 to 2015-16, are held by Canal Plus and beIN Sports. Canal Plus holds the division’s top four premium packages and ancillary rights including rights to show matches in bars and commercial premises, while beIN Sports has rights for the fifth premium package.