French volleyball league appoints Sportradar to handle OTT service

The French volleyball league, the Ligue Nationale de Volley, announced yesterdayit has struck a two-season deal with Sportradar for its media rights.

Under the deal, covering 2018-19 and 2019-20, media company Sportradar will be responsible for creating a dedicated LNV OTT service: LNV TV. The subscription platform will offer all games live and on replay globally. LNV president Alain Griguer described the launch of the service as a “gamble”.

Sports technology provider Oppia Performance will be responsible for production, filming Ligue A men’s matches with three cameras, and top-tier women’s Ligue A matches and second-tier men’s Ligue B matches with one camera.

LNV media rights in France were previously held by digital-terrestrial broadcaster L’Équipe in a three-season deal, from 2015-16 to 2017-18.

On June 21 this year, the LNV began a consultation period for its rights from 2018-19, which was set to conclude at the end of July. There is reported to have been little interest in the rights from L’Équipe, or other French broadcasters.