Court appoints mediator to sort out French TV rights chaos
August 1 – An independent mediator has been appointed to find a resolution to the TV rights dispute between Canal+ and the French league (LFP), and by association beIN Sports.
Broadcast
Court tells Canal+ it can’t hide behind beIN Sports sub-license to avoid paying €330m
July 30 – The chaos around French league broadcast rights move on a stage yesterday with Canal+ being told by the President of the Nanterre Commercial Court that it had frozen Canal+’s right to terminate the €330 million broadcast contract they had sub-licensed from beIN Sports for live Ligue 1 games.
French TV chaos continues as court tells beIN to sue LFP if it wants its €330m from Canal+
July 25 – The Nanterre Commercial court in France has ruled against beIN Sports in its request to make Canal+ fulfil its contract and pay €330 million in rights fees for live broadcast of Ligue 1 matches. Canal + said it was suspending its sub-licensing contract with beIN after Ligue 1 licensed rights to Amazon.
BeIN renews Bundesliga for France and Turkey
July 21 – BeIN Sports and the Bundesliga have extended their broadcast deal in France and Turkey, with the new partnership running through until the 2024-25 season.
beIN dragged deeper into Canal+ broadcast row over LFP’s Amazon giveaway
July 18 – The row over broadcast rights between Canal + and France’s LFP has now sucked in beIN Sports who are demanding that Canal+ fulfil the sub-licensing agreement they have for two live matches per round.
SuperSport returns to African football with money for Champions League final rights
July 15 – African football fans will have the chance to watch the continent’s Champions League final between South Africa’s Kaizer Chiefs and Egypt’s Al Ahly after SuperSport secured the rights for the showpiece match.
Canal+ reconfirms intent to switch off French league deal over Amazon row
July 14 – Has a separation between France’s LFP and its traditional anchor broadcaster Canal+ become inevitable? With Ligue 1 kicking off the first weekend of August, the broadcaster has renewed its request to terminate its contract with the league, confirming its position after Amazon won broadcast rights for the first time in June.
BeIN grabs last minute Gold Cup rights as Qatar poised for debut
July 13 – Concacaf has expanded the broadcast footprint for its Gold Cup across the Middle East and North Africa with pay-television broadcaster beIN Media Group.
UEFA joins anti-piracy complaint in Africa as SatCon network grows
July 8 – UEFA have joined a joint statement condemning the illegal broadcast of its content in Africa by satellite operator SatCon, based in Gabon in Africa.
LaLiga to return to India TV screens with MTV deal
July 7 – Entertainment broadcaster MTV will broadcast La Liga exclusively in India for the next three years.
UEFA opens up Women’s Champions League to world with game changing DAZN deal
June 30 – UEFA has taking the groundbreaking step of making the first two seasons of its revamped Women’s Champions League free-to-air via a new partnership with DAZN and YouTube.
Caribbean broadcaster CSTN boosts output with AFC 3-year output deal
June 29 – CSTN, which is re-emerging as a broadcast network in the Caribbean under TV veteran Selby Browne with a series of football deals, has picked up the rights to the Asian Football Confederation’s (AFC) competitions from 2021 to 2024.
Europeans Leagues bundles-up 9 members for joint overseas TV pitch
June 18 – The European Leagues association has stepped into the broadcast rights representation business with the bundling of nine of its members into a broadcast package for international television.
PSM picks up AFC media rights for the Maldives
June 17 – The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has continued filling in its global TV distribution map with the announcement that PSM will be their new media partner in Maldives.
Canal+ cancels TV deal in protest against Ligue1 opening domestic door to Amazon
June 14 – Tech and e-commerce giant Amazon has won the broadcast rights for Ligue 1 for €330 million per season for the next three seasons, prompting Canal+ to withdraw from its deal with Ligue 1, leaving French club football on the brink of another broadcast-triggered financial crisis.