The Ligue de Football Professionnel, the French football league, has agreed a four-season deal with pay-television broadcaster Canal Plus and public-service broadcaster France Télévisions for rights to the Coupe de la Ligue knockout competition.
The deal announced today (Wednesday) follows a tender process launched last month. It covers the 2016-17 to 2019-20 seasons of the Coupe de la Ligue.
Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed, but LFP president Frédéric Thiriez said it is a record deal for the competition. Canal Plus has secured live rights in their entirety to the Coupe de la Ligue, with France Télévisions set to broadcast the best game of the tournament via its France 2 or France 3 channels from the Round of 16 onwards.
Thiriez said: “The partnership formed by Canal Plus on one side and France Télévisions on the other, our two historic partners, has made an offer of very high quality within the clear and encrypted coverage, and a record financial level which again demonstrates the importance of this competition.”
In January 2012, France Télévisions acquired rights for the Coupe de la Ligue in a four-season deal, from 2012-13 to 2015-16. France Télévisions, which was the incumbent rights-holder in a three-season deal from 2009-10 to 2011-12, beat a rival bid from Canal Plus for the current contract.
The new deal is expected to be formally ratified by the LFP’s board of directors at a meeting tomorrow (Thursday).