Mediapro ‘partners with Netflix’ on Téléfoot OTT offer

Spanish agency and production group Mediapro has reportedly reached an agreement with internet entertainment giant Netflix to create a joint consumer offer incorporating the agency’s new Téléfoot channel.

The deal will see Mediapro give internet subscribers to Téléfoot the chance to also subscribe to Netflix as part of a combined offer costing less than €30 ($34.70) per month with a one-year commitment, according to L’Équipe.

Téléfoot and Netflix subscriptions, on their own, cost €25.90 euros per month and €11.99 per month, respectively, providing opportunity for substantial savings.

Mediapro would be responsible for administering the package, according to the report.

The agency will launch Téléfoot on August 17, just four days before the start of the new French Ligue 1 season. It is creating the channel on the back of its €780m-per-season acquisition of the bulk of Ligue 1 broadcast rights from 2020-21 to 2023-24.

It is aiming to attract 3.5 million subscribers to Téléfoot.

The reported Netflix deal follows recent reports that Mediapro has agreed Téléfoot distribution with social-media giant Facebook. As yet, no announcement has been made, but the platform has said that any deal would not involve a fee.

Early this week, Mediapro announced a Téléfoot distribution deal with telco Altice’s SFR platform covering the 2020-24 cycle. The agency and Altice have also agreed a co-broadcast deal for Uefa club competitions next season.

SFR is the first linear distributor Mediapro has found for Téléfoot. Its carriage discussions with traditional distributors have been complicated by the latter’s reluctance to pay a minimum guarantee for the channel. SFR is not thought to be paying a minimum guarantee.

The main distribution platforms in France are pay-television operator Canal Plus and telcos Orange, Bouygues Telecom, Free, and SFR.

Negotiations with Free and Orange “have advanced little”, L’Équipe said last week, while those with Canal Plus were said to have reached a stalemate.

In a press conference on Tuesday, Mediapro’s chief executive said he was still open to a deal with Canal Plus: “We are ready to meet today, tomorrow, the day after tomorrow… We are open. If there is an agreement, we will not add our prices (of subscriptions), we will find an interesting formula for subscribers.”