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Private equity and football: An adult in the room

19 December 2022
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CVC Capital Partners has acquired stakes in the top Spanish and French football leagues, and has been in talks with Germany’s and Italy’s alongside other private equity (PE) firms.

Clubs are after an immediate post-Covid capital injection, and the steady cashflows from media rights are attractive to PE firms. CVC has gained management influence, and tighter cost control should help channel the money into clubs’ stadiums and academies.

Even if the stakes were sold from a position of weakness, PE could help to align the traditionally fractious clubs with the leagues, bringing about a more robust approach across rights deals and investment in commercial potential.

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In a new chapter of a three year saga, the Ligue 1 awarded eight weekly games to Amazon for the 2021-24 seasons at a rock bottom price of €250 million per year, while Canal+ is left paying €330 million for only two fixtures per week.

Amazon makes a qualitative leap to become the lead broadcaster of a top domestic sport for the first time, probably reflecting more opportunism than a strategic shift.

Canal+ is asking courts to cancel the auction. Based on precedents, we expect the shift to undermine the total market for sport subscriptions.

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Sports rights: Will streamers bid up prices?

6 July 2022

Global SVOD operators are expanding their sports content offerings. Amazon just bought UK Champions League rights, Apple signed US baseball and global football (soccer) deals, Paramount and partners won the Indian Premier League cricket auction, while Netflix unsuccessfully bid on the US Formula One licence.

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Access report

  • France’s Ligue 1 rights - Amazon wins, Canal+ litigates

    14 June 2021

    In a new chapter of a three year saga, the Ligue 1 awarded eight weekly games to Amazon for the 2021-24 seasons at a rock bottom price of €250 million per year, while Canal+ is left paying €330 million for only two fixtures per week.

    Amazon makes a qualitative leap to become the lead broadcaster of a top domestic sport for the first time, probably reflecting more opportunism than a strategic shift.

    Canal+ is asking courts to cancel the auction. Based on precedents, we expect the shift to undermine the total market for sport subscriptions.

    Access report

  • Sports rights: Will streamers bid up prices?

    6 July 2022

    Global SVOD operators are expanding their sports content offerings. Amazon just bought UK Champions League rights, Apple signed US baseball and global football (soccer) deals, Paramount and partners won the Indian Premier League cricket auction, while Netflix unsuccessfully bid on the US Formula One licence.

    In the US, streamers feed an already very competitive market, while in Europe they could potentially relaunch inflation for rights after a period of stagnation. Next moves by Warner Bros. Discovery (BT Sport and Eurosport) and Disney will be critical. Sky and Canal+ could be facing upward cost pressures.

    If rights fragmentation were to increase, deeper aggregation and bundling may be necessary to avoid shrinking the consumer pool while the pressure to consolidate may intensify. Intriguingly, global rights deals may become more likely.

    Access report