January 29 – The French Professional Football League (LFP), organiser of Ligue 1, has secured another courtroom victory over one of its broadcast partners with beIN Sports ordered to pay €14.13 million in withheld payments.
The Paris Commercial Court ordered the pay-TV platform to pay the sum that it had been refusing to pay LFP Media. The sum relates to portions of BeIN’s €18 million installments for its Ligue 1 rights, money the broadcaster had held back amid a dispute over match-pick conditions.
beIN currently pays €78.5 million per season for the right to show one Ligue 1 match per gameweek through the 2025-26 campaign. The conflict centres on restrictions tied to the Saturday 5pm slot, including limits on showing the same team more than eight times per season or twice consecutively, and requirements to alternate between first and second pick. The court dismissed beIN’s claims, though the broadcaster retains the right to appeal.
In a statement, beIN said: “We take note of the initial first-instance decision of the Court and will, of course, immediately study all options for appeal.
“This case was brought as a matter of principle, to defend contractual loyalty and protect beIN Sports from conduct that has been harmful and inconsistent with the spirit of our long-standing partnership with LFP Media.
“LFP Media’s persistent refusal to engage constructively with our legitimate and reasonable concerns – including rejecting all mediation – has compelled us to take this action. The issues raised are serious and deserve to be examined.
“The fact that LFP Media is regularly in court against current and former broadcast partners – the main source of income for clubs – unlike any other major league in football, speaks for itself and the current perilous financial predicament.”
The beIN dispute is the latest in a long line of legal battles involving the LFP, including high-profile clashes with Canal+ and DAZN. While the league has responded by launching its own Ligue 1+ streaming service which is showing promising early uptake, legal brinkmanship risks further souring relationships with traditional broadcasters.
With future growth likely to require either a return to linear TV or deeper partnerships, the LFP’s aggressive, litigation-first approach raises a fundamental question: can repeatedly beating broadcasters in court really help rebuild trust — and value — in the long run?
Contact the writer of this story, Nick Webster, at [email protected]