German sports broadcaster Sport1 has secured rights to French football’s Coupe de France in a deal running until the end of the 2021-22 tournament.
SportBusiness understands that the rights have been acquired on a non-exclusive basis. Subscription streaming service DAZN had already acquired rights (also to 2021-22) and Sport1 has now secured rights on a co-exclusive basis.
Sport1 has completed its rights agreement with the IMG agency ahead of the Coupe de France semi-finals at the start of next month.
Sport1+, the pay-television channel, will show the semi-final clash between Lyon and Paris Saint-Germain at 9.05pm (CET) on March 3. The same channel will then air live coverage of the Saint-Étienne v Rennes tie 24 hours later.
The broadcaster’s flagship free-to-air channel will show the Coupe de France final on April 25. Digital highlights clips have also been picked up by Sport1 as part of the agreement.
Sport1 has also aired the competition in recent seasons. Its three-year contract to air at least 19 matches per season expired at the end of the 2018-19 season.
DAZN last month completed its acquisition of rights to the knockout clubs competition in a deal covering Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The broadcaster kicked off its live coverage with the round-of-16 clash between Monaco and Saint-Étienne.
IMG distributes international rights to the Coupe de France on a global basis, with the exception of France, Spain, the Middle East and North Africa, sub-Saharan Africa, Malaysia, Thailand, Hong Kong, Singapore, Cambodia and Laos.
A minimum of 21 matches per season are produced for international broadcasters with six high-definition cameras.