The Court of Appeal in Paris has rejected a final attempt by pay-television broadcaster Canal Plus to delay a tender of the next cycle of rights to domestic football’s top-tier Ligue 1 and second-tier Ligue 2.
The court rejected the broadcaster’s appeal yesterday (Tuesday) afternoon, allowing the bidding process to start today.
Bids for a total of six multi-platform rights packages are due to be submitted to the Ligue de Football Professionnel (LFP) by this Friday.
Last Friday, France’s Tribunal de Grande Instance law court dismissed a complaint by Canal Plus, which had complained that the launch of the tender for rights covering four seasons, from 2016-17 to 2019-20, 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.