French telco Orange has refused to submit a third offer for mobile rights for French Ligue 1 football, after having doubled its initial offer to €20 million ($25.6 million) per season late last year, according to L’Equipe.
Orange currently pays about €60 million per year for the rights under a four-year deal from 2008-09 to 2011-12. The company increased its offer in the next cycle, from 2012-13 to 2015-16, after an initial bid of €10 million per year was rejected, but the Ligue de Football Professionnel, the French professional football league, rejected the improved bid too.
League president Frédéric Thiriez said he would lobby state authorities to attempt to put pressure on the telco to increase its offer. The league had secured €510 million in domestic rights fees for 2012-13 to 2015-16 so far, down from €668 million for the period 2008-09 to 2011-12.