May 12 – TEAM Marketing has doubled broadcast revenue from France for the Champions League and Europa League to €350 million for the 2018-21 seasons. The new money comes with a new broadcaster. Telecoms giant SFR takes over from Canal + and BeIN Sports who were paying a combined €140 million.
The new price reflects the increase in the number of competitive French teams in European competitions, this season Monaco made it to the semi-finals in the Champions League. PSG and Lyons have also been prominent. The higher price is also good news for French clubs who will receive a greater share of commercial revenue once the annual share of broadcast money is divided up by UEFA once the deal kicks in.
With the rights shifting to SFR, the deal marks a potential major move in the French broadcast market for football away from the traditional TV buyers. SFR has created dedicated channels under the SFR Sport brand, and hopes that this will it allow it to sign new telecom subscribers.
Canal + is the most significant loser in the rights as it battles to retain subscribers to its sports channel. The switch of the rights to SFR mirrors a switch in the UK from Sky and ITV to telecom giant BT. Canal + still holds rights to France’s Ligue 1.
More impact might be felt by the rights loss at BeIN Sports which programmes up to three evenings a week of European cup football. The Qatar-funded channel had been making in-roads into the market but is still making significant losses. The blow will save on cost but lose on viewers.
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