Talks are "accelerating" between the French Ligue de Football Professionnel and longtime media partner Canal+ about the net "taking all or part of Mediapro's rights" to Ligue 1, as the Spanish company still refuses to pay what it owes for this season, according to sources. The French LFP and Mediapro currently are in mediation over the unpaid fees, and the LFP "would like to reach an agreement with Canal+ as quickly as possible in order to receive payment by December."
Ligue 1 side Nantes President Waldemar Kita on Tuesday said of Canal+, " I think and hope they'll be with us." But Canal+ is "negotiating from a position of strength," and any agreement reached by the two parties "will not carry a price tag as high as Mediapro agreed to pay" -- around €780M ($925M) a year for the rights to most Ligue 1 matches in France and several million more a year for Ligue 2. Regaining the Sunday primetime match -- the most attractive timeslot on the Ligue 1 calendar -- "could be a priority in negotiations" for Canal+" (RMC SPORT, 11/18).
