France’s Ligue Nationale de Rugby, which operates the domestic top-tier Top 14 rugby union club competition, will make a decision on whether to cancel its current rights deal with pay-television broadcaster Canal Plus by the middle of October.
“We have a window [to cancel the rights deal] between September 1 and December 31,” new LNR president Paul Goze told French newspaper l’Equipe. “A steering committee was formed in January and it will meet again in early September. From there, a decision will be made no later than early October.”
The LNR is considering activating a cancellation clause in its deal with Canal Plus as it believes that it can negotiate a more lucrative rights deal, with pay-television broadcaster beIN Sport understood to be interested in the rights.
Several clubs, including Bayonne, Bordeaux-Begles, Montpellier, Racing Metro and Toulon are believed to be in favour of curtailing the Canal Plus agreement, which is worth €158.5m ($212.4m) over five years, from 2011-12 to 2015-16, or €31.7m per season.