Luxembourg-based media company Fuchs Sports has agreed a five-season deal with the French Football Federation for digital rights to National 2 and National 3, the fourth and fifth tiers of the domestic game.
The contract, covering the 2020-21 to 2024-25 seasons, will ensure all matches from the two leagues will be streamed live on a dedicated platform. The platform will be FFF-branded, while certain high-profile matches may also be broadcast on the Federation’s FFFTV service.
Fuchs Sports will equip the 64 stadia of National 2 and the 168 stadia of National 3 with a camera system allowing the capture of matches in an automated manner through use of artificial intelligence technology.
In addition, the deal will allow clubs to enhance their own digital services, with free-to-access highlights and video of games to be made available.
Head of development and strategy at Fuchs Sports, Frédéric Lamotte, said the contract is worth several million euros.
“The Federation, regional leagues, and clubs will not pay anything,” he told the Foot Amateur website. “This is why we signed a five-year contract. It’s risky, but it’s the quality of the product that will matter. What we are going to do does not exist and we offer advertisers significant visibility, but also innovative marketing operations.”
Lamotte added: “As an important point for the supporters, the product will be completely free. It is therefore an essential point of our partnership and a response expected by supporters. We will also share our production with the clubs.
“The staff of each club will be able to review their matches but also that of their opponents. We wanted fairness between all clubs, for everyone to be on an equal footing. Then we will provide options for staff who want to improve the product.”
Fuchs Sports was this month linked to rights to the Luxembourg National Division. The company is an entity set up by wealth management company Fuchs Group, which has offices in Luxembourg, Belgium and Switzerland.
The Fuchs Group last year began marketing and placing various external capital options for the financing of Sporttotal International, the international live streaming project of the Germany-based sports television production and marketing firm previously known as Wige Media.