France’s Ligue Nationale de Rugby (LNR) has been ordered to launch a tender process at the end of the 2014-15 season for the rights to the Top 14 after the Autorité de la Concurrence, the French competition authority, suspended the league’s five-year deal with pay-television broadcaster Canal Plus.
In January, Canal Plus was awarded the rights over five years, from 2014-15 to 2018-19, just days after the LNR said that it had postponed a rights tender after becoming the subject of legal action by the same broadcaster.
Pay-television rival beIN Sports submitted a formal complaint to the Autorité de la Concurrence in March, having claimed that January’s agreement had not followed “a transparent procedure to ensure fair competition.”
French newspaper Le Figaro said that the competition authority today (Wednesday) ruled that a new tender process is needed, highlighting that the top division of French rugby can now be classed as “premium rights” that would generate significant additional subscriptions for any pay-television broadcaster holding the rights.
Responding to the authority’s ruling, Canal Plus has stressed that it does not affect its coverage of the Top 14 for the forthcoming 2014-15 season, which is scheduled to commence on August 15.
Canal Plus added: “With regard to measures relating to subsequent seasons, the Canal Plus Group wishes to express its profound disagreement (with the ruling) and announces its intention to appeal against these measures at the Court of Appeal of Paris.”