Canal+ CEO Bertrand Méheut on Tuesday said that "the arrival of beIN sports into French sports broadcasting was not that troublesome for the TV station," according to L’EQUIPE. While Canal+ was "never happy with the limitless investments in TV rights" by beIN Sports, Méheut "seems confident that the arrival of the Franco-Qatari TV station is a good thing for sports on TV." Méheut said, “More pay-TV broadcasters investing in sports means the entertainment is more attractive to subscribers. Although I do regret the inflation costs of sports rights, I am not ultimately unhappy that beIN Sports exists.” According to Méheut, this arrival made it possible to “share the financial costs” for the Ligue 1 rights, which allowed his TV station to extend its rights until ’20 at “a reasonable price” -- €540M ($688.2M) -- per season for the top three billings each weekend beginning in ’16. And while the agreement between the French National Rugby League and Canal+ was "recently canceled by the Paris Court of Appeals, Méheut stated that Ligue 1 is the only event that 'really raises subscriptions.'" Before returning the rights to Top 14 to the market in ’15, he said that it [Top 14 TV rights] is a right “very important but not as premium” as French football (L’EQUIPE, 10/28).
