Mediapro stops payments for French football: An opportunity for Canal+
It was too good to be true: Ligue 1 TV receipts will not jump 44% as it expected, compounding its COVID-induced financial distress.
Canal+ could step in and is in a strong bargaining position.
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European football: An opportunity to reset
16 June 2020The COVID-19 crisis is compounding the already grim revenue prospects for upcoming football rights sales in continental Europe.
The financially weakest leagues in Italy and France are especially exposed. Serie A is exploring deals with private equity firms, with the pros and cons finely balanced.
There is a window of opportunity for Sky and Canal+—the adults in the room—to build coalitions with selected clubs to nudge leagues towards needed reforms including longer licence terms, reducing the number of clubs and more equal revenue splits.
The pay-TV platform’s revenue has almost stabilised in France, while positioning has shifted to that of an aggregator—thanks to deals with Netflix, Disney+ and BeIN Sports.
Ligue 1's licensing deal with Mediapro for the 2020-24 football rights seems unlikely to be fulfilled, so the league may have no choice but to go back to Canal+ to ‘save French football'.
Canal+ could now put forward a grand bargain—with its renewed commitment towards French football and production industries, the platform could plausibly gain control over Orange’s IPTV service and negotiate a more favourable regulatory environment.
Football and COVID-19: Avoiding meltdown
26 March 2020In a likely scenario, the suspended football season could be concluded in empty stadiums in a June and July rush, nevertheless with severe financial consequences.
Pay-TV incumbents like Sky face limited risk—at worst they lose four months of subscription revenue for games already paid for. No-contract services such as DAZN must anticipate a more severe shock.
To limit disruption, pain will have to be shared across the supply-chain with players’ pay first in line. But fast coordination in a continent-wide, multi-layered industry is challenging; in places, the issue may turn political.
European football: An opportunity to reset
16 June 2020The COVID-19 crisis is compounding the already grim revenue prospects for upcoming football rights sales in continental Europe.
The financially weakest leagues in Italy and France are especially exposed. Serie A is exploring deals with private equity firms, with the pros and cons finely balanced.
There is a window of opportunity for Sky and Canal+—the adults in the room—to build coalitions with selected clubs to nudge leagues towards needed reforms including longer licence terms, reducing the number of clubs and more equal revenue splits.
The pay-TV platform’s revenue has almost stabilised in France, while positioning has shifted to that of an aggregator—thanks to deals with Netflix, Disney+ and BeIN Sports.
Ligue 1's licensing deal with Mediapro for the 2020-24 football rights seems unlikely to be fulfilled, so the league may have no choice but to go back to Canal+ to ‘save French football'.
Canal+ could now put forward a grand bargain—with its renewed commitment towards French football and production industries, the platform could plausibly gain control over Orange’s IPTV service and negotiate a more favourable regulatory environment.
Football and COVID-19: Avoiding meltdown
26 March 2020In a likely scenario, the suspended football season could be concluded in empty stadiums in a June and July rush, nevertheless with severe financial consequences.
Pay-TV incumbents like Sky face limited risk—at worst they lose four months of subscription revenue for games already paid for. No-contract services such as DAZN must anticipate a more severe shock.
To limit disruption, pain will have to be shared across the supply-chain with players’ pay first in line. But fast coordination in a continent-wide, multi-layered industry is challenging; in places, the issue may turn political.