The Lens-Lyon match is threatened. BeIN Sports partially paid its TV rights to the LFP, highlighting the broadcast of the first poster of the season.
New twist in the Ligue 1. TV rights case. While the 2025-2026 season begins soon, the showdown between the LFP and BeIN Sports is intensifying. According to The teamBeIN Sports, which paid 78.5 million euros per year to broadcast the Saturday match at 5 p.m., settled only 14 million out of the 18 million expected at the beginning of August. The reason? The Franco-Qatari channel protests against the constraints imposed on the programming of matches and claims more freedom to choose the meetings to be broadcast.
Indeed, BeIN Sports has the right to choose between two alternating slots, but cannot broadcast the same team more than eight times or programmed the same club twice in a row. To soften these rules, Nicolas de Tavernost, managing director of LFP Media, proposed to authorize the consecutive broadcast of the same team provided that Visit Qatar pays an additional sponsorship of 20 million euros.
But this offer was rejected by Yousef al-Obaidly, patron of Bein Sports, which speaks of a “Totally disconnected from reality”. According to him, “The sponsorship contract of 20 million euros in question has never been signed or even discussed between LFP Media and Qatar Tourism”. He also accuses the LFP of having failed in its commitments and of exerting pressure “Coercitive and abusive” To impose an arrangement with three parts impossible to apply.
What risk?
In her response, Yousef al-Obaidly notes, however, that the LFP finally recognizes the value of 20 million euros associated with these restrictions on the choice of matches. But he deplores that the LFP
“Take advantage of a contractual breach not to find a solution, but to impose an unacceptable situation on Bein”.
The LFP, reunited by the Board of Directors this Thursday, could put BeIN Sports notice to respect its contract. For his part, the broadcaster continues to challenge the value of his commitment, which explains his partial payment. This war of rights leaves a doubt about the broadcast of the matches on Saturday afternoon, in particular the Lens-Lyon poster scheduled for August 16,
On the sidelines of the first day of Ligue 1.
