The French Football League (LFP) has joined Spanish counterpart LaLiga by announcing plans to introduce Intel True View technology for its broadcasters and digital platforms.
Through the tie-up, the technology allows fans to view or replay match action from all angles and is designed to enhance the viewing experience. The technology will be tested for the first time on Sunday when Paris Saint-Germain hosts Olympique Lyonnais.
Various 5K cameras will be fitted around PSG’s Parc des Princes stadium, with Intel True View to allow official Ligue 1 broadcasters to provide multiple angles of the match. The technology also provides 360-degree replays to allow fans to experience the match from a player’s perspective.
The 3D replays will also be distributed across the LFP’s digital platforms and social media channels.
Following Sunday’s test at the Parc des Princes, the technology will be deployed at Marseille’s Orange Vélodrome and Lyon’s Groupama Stadium next season.
The technology is already used in the NFL and LaLiga. The Spanish football league first introduced Intel True View in 2018 and uses the technology to provide 360-degree coverage of its matches.
Last year, Intel partnered with English Premier League clubs Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester City to showcase the True View technology across the teams’ owned, operated and social media channels.
Meanwhile, LFP chief executive Didier Quillot today defended the combined cost of subscriptions needed to watch football in France, ahead of the launch of Mediapro’s pay-television service this summer.
Mediapro is launching subscription channels on the back of its €780m- ($858.3m-) per-season contract for eight Ligue 1 rights packages from 2020-21 to 2023-24. Rights to Ligue 2 will be shared by Mediapro and beIN, while pay-television broadcaster Canal Plus has acquired beIN’s Ligue 1 rights from next season onwards in a wide-ranging deal. A further subscription is required to watch RMC Sport’s Uefa Champions League and Europa League coverage.
Mediapro this week expanded somewhat on its plans for a service that will cost €25 per month.
Speaking on Europe 1 radio today (Friday), Quillot said: “Today, in order to watch football in England it’s between €70 and €80 [per month] and in Spain’s it’s between €80 and €90.
“For the end customer this seems expensive but it’s the same price that our European counterparts charge and I do not see why it should be less expensive in France.”
Canal Plus and beIN’s exclusive distribution and sublicensing agreement takes effect in June and includes carriage of beIN’s premium channels by the Vivendi-owned operator and their exclusive distribution to third-party platforms.
That deal will allow fans to save money when compared to buying standalone subscriptions to Canal Plus and beIN, Quillot said today.
The LFP chief executive noted: “Canal and beIN have signed an agreement so we can assume that there will be a packaging of the offer by Canal Plus and that the [current] prices will no longer be valid by July and August.”
Given that dynamic and the non-exclusive distribution of the Mediapro channels, Quillot said that he expects will allow French fans to watch “all football” for around €50 per month.