While some European soccer leagues have looked for greener pastures in recent years, France’s Ligue 1 has remained loyal to its long-time partner beIN Sports in the US, and that partnership will continue in the near future. The deal also includes Canadian rights.
According to an announcement on Friday, beIN has retained the rights to Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 through the 2028-29 season under a five-year deal.
Antonio Briceño, Managing Director US & Canada of beIN Sports, promoted the new deal in the press release.
As we continue our commitment to bring the best of international sport to our viewers, beIN SPORTS is proud to retain its exclusive broadcast rights to Ligue 1 and 2 in the US and Canada. This partnership underscores our commitment to providing our viewers with world-class soccer content as we remain focused on delivering unparalleled coverage and a premium viewing experience to fans across North America.
The deal will see beIN broadcast at least four live Ligue 1 matches each matchweek, as well as coverage of both Ligue 2 and the Trophée des Champions (essentially the French version of the Super Cup between the cup winners and the league champions) each season.
French football has been on the brink of financial collapse for several seasons after Ligue 1’s contract with Mediapro fell through, leading to a far less lucrative deal with Amazon. Last month, Ligue 1 agreed a five-year national media rights deal with beIN and DAZN for a reported €500 million annually, far less than the €840 million the league was seeking. At the national level, Ligue 1’s annual rights payments have fallen in every cycle since the Mediapro deal collapsed, and are now even lower than they were during the four-year cycles from 2016 to 2020, before Mediapro came into play.
(beIN Sports)
