Canal+ tries to block football re-tender
January 26, 2021
From Pascale Paoli-Lebailly in Paris
Canal+ is taking legal action to protest against the decision by the French football league LFP to initiate a partial re-tender over the 2020-2024 football TV rights.
Canal+ says this new auction, due to end on February 1st, is an anti-competitive move.
Following the cancellation of Mediapro’s deal in December 2020, LFP’s tender process is covering 80 per cent of Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 matches, excluding the package acquired by beIN Sports and partially sublicensed to Canal+ for €330 million.
The court hearing has been scheduled for February 19th, which is two weeks after the theoretical closing of the new bid for the potential broadcasters.