April 9 – France’s Ligue 1 and broadcast distribution partner beIN SPORTS have signed a major TV deal in China that will see the league broadcast across terrestrial and digital channels with state broadcaster CCTV.
The four-season deal (2017/2018 to 2020/2021), will see CCTV5, the public broadcaster’s sports channel, lead the coverage.
Other coverage will be on CCTV5 +, Feng Yun HD, CCTV5 app and CNTV and will include two live matches per round of the championship.
The ‘Ligue 1 Show’ and ‘Ligue 1 Highlights’ magazines, produced by beIN SPORTS, will also be included in the broadcast package.
Yousef Al-Obaidly, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of beIN MEDIA GROUP said: “We are delighted by this alliance with the largest Chinese audiovisual group, CCTV, which will allow more than one billion viewers to fully enjoy the meetings of the French championship in China.”
Ligue 1 opened an office in Beijing a year ago. This deal will bring unparalled exposure for the league and its clubs in the Chinese market. Chinese investors have partnered in the ownership of Nice in Ligue 1, as well as control of Sochaux and Auxerre in Ligue 2.
Fang Gang, Director of CCTV Sports, said: “In this World Cup year, the cover of the Conforama League 1 on CCTV Sports takes on a special meaning. Recent measures taken by the LFP have improved the competitiveness and attractiveness of Ligue 1 Conforama. The France team will be one of the favorites at the FIFA World Cup in Russia. We are delighted to start this partnership with the LFP in order to broadcast more and more quality matches to a large audience in China.”
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