Ligue 1 broadcast partner Mediapro is "set to abandon" its €830M ($1.01B) annual TV rights deal in a move that "will leave the finances of Ligue 1 teams in chaos." After months of court-mediated negotiations with the French Ligue de Football Professionnel, France's governing body of pro soccer, the Spanish media company has agreed to return the rights to Ligue 1 and 2 matches from '20-24, but "will pay only a portion of what it owes ... after skipping two payments since October" -- the first for €172m ($208M) and the second for €152.5M ($184.8M). The LFP will be "free to sell the rights to another company, and has already begun talks" with longtime former broadcast partner Canal+. Sources "expect that any new deal will be worth substantially less than the Mediapro contract." The termination "still has to be approved by the French commercial court" in Nanterre (FINANCIAL TIMES, 12/11).
Mediapro has "agreed to pay damages" of €64M ($78M) in '20 and another €36M ($44M) in the first quarter of '21 to the LFP. Mediapro also "agreed to continue broadcasting" Ligue 1 matches in France "while the LFP looks for a new broadcaster" (L'EQUIPE, 12/11). Telefoot, the TV net Mediapro created in the summer to serve as the home of Ligue 1 in France, "will shutdown" when the company stops broadcasting matches (LE PARISIEN, 12/11). Mediapro in October announced a "desire to renegotiate its deal" given the pandemic's impact. When Mediapro failed to meet its payment in October, the LFP took out a €112M ($136M) government-backed bank loan -- the "second they have taken out this year." Clubs have "warned that they could face bankruptcy in the new year if no alternative arrangement is found" (THEATHLETIC.com, 12/11).
