Pierre Fraidenraich was appointed as the new rights acquisitions director at the sports division of Canal Plus, the French pay-television broadcaster, according to l’Equipe.
Fraidenraich replaces Jean-Louis Dutaret and will report into Canal Plus director general Rodolphe Belmer. Dutaret is also vice-president at Canal Plus Events, the broadcaster’s events organising division, and will remain at the company. Pierre Lelong, who served as Dutaret’s deputy in rights negotiations, will retain his position under Fraidenraich.
Fraidenraich was previously executive director of French digital news channel i-Télé, which is owned by Canal Plus.
The appointment comes at a challenging time for Canal Plus, which is facing increased competition for sports rights from Qatari pay-television broadcaster Al Jazeera. Last year, Canal Plus lost rights for the Uefa Champions League, from 2012-13 to 2014-15, and French Ligue 1 football, from 2012-13 to 2015-16, to Al Jazeera.
On Monday, Canal Plus was eliminated from the tender for remaining Ligue 1 rights, with the Ligue de Football Professionnel, the French football league, entering exclusive talks with Al Jazeera.
Also on Monday, the league awarded domestic rights for the Coupe de la Ligue, the French league cup, to public-service broadcaster France Télévisions, in a four-year deal from 2012-13 to 2015-16. Canal Plus had bid for the rights.