TIC-TAC … In a week, Friday August 15, the French Ligue 1 championship will finally resume its rights, with a nice poster to inaugurate the 2025-26 cuvée: Rennes-OM (9 p.m.). At the headquarters of the Professional Football League, the effervescence reigns. And for good reason, the body and the clubs have decided to innovate by launching their own chain where eight of the nine Ligue 1 meetings will be broadcast (the last being on beIN Sports).
“It’s a big challenge, Pose Nicolas de Tavernost, Managing Director of LFP Média. We will set up the application and the Ligue 1+ platform in record time. Important work was done and focused on 3 sites: distribution, editorial and offer marketing.“
Where to subscribe?
Football lovers are a bit lost at the moment. The most provident try to anticipate and already seek to subscribe. But this will not be possible until Monday August 11, or even Tuesday August 12 depending on the platforms. “”We have signed or is on the way to doing so with the virtual integration of important French platforms with the exception of Canal+, Subject of Tavernost. The platform will be properly distributed including our app being finalized.“
Orange, SFR, Free or Bouygues will therefore offer Ligue 1+, but also Dazn, Molotov, Amazon. Ligue 1+ will also be available on its own application.
What rates?
This is where Dazn, the previous L1 diffuser, had failed, with prohibitive prices. The platform had never succeeded in catching up with this introductory failure despite several promotional offers during the season, sometimes improbable. The league channel wants to avoid this pitfall with “A pricing adapted to what we offer to have subscribers, fight against hacking and because we do not have all the matches“, Essay of Tavernost.
The offer with subscription amounts to € 14.99 per month, € 19.99 without obligation. Those under 26 will be entitled to a discount with a monthly formula at € 9.99; Same price for those who will only subscribe to the mobile offer (€ 9.99). With a reserve for these last two formulas: impossible to caster On his TV. “”We have not authorized the cast on the mobile and young offer, since we are in the conquest. Viewing on TV will only be done with standard offers“, Specifies Tatiana Agova-Bregou in charge of relations with distributors.
And this one to indicate the existence of a promotional offer at € 9.99 for the first three months (before switching to the classic price), “Reserved for the first subscribers during the first fifteen days of August, between the start of the championship and August 31“. The promotional and subscription campaign will start on Monday August 11.
The objective is clear: 1 million subscribers at the end of the season.
What programs?
Ligue 1+ will broadcast 8 Ligue 1 games 1 in 9 possible. “”The chain will be mainly made up of live content from Friday to Sundayconfirms Jérôme Cazadieu, editorial director. For Rennes-OM, we will take the antenna at 7:15 p.m. on Friday August 15 until midnight. The pre-match will be on our YouTube and Twitch channels so that everyone can discover us.“The weekend will be punctuated by magazines.”We are the club chain and therefore fans, continues Cazadieu. The goal is to offer more immersive content, in discussion with clubs so that they open their doors to us. Perhaps there will be the sound system of heating or assistants. We will be a platform, with a linear chain with real antenna continuity.“
The Ligue 1 heritage will be highlighted with recommented legendary matches; A program for children will be launched in October and will also be broadcast on Gulli. Series on Paris FC and on Niçois Dante are being filmed, the first episodes being scheduled for September.
And Canal+ in all of this?
This is the big black point: no distribution agreement was reached with the historic broadcaster of the French championship after having failed in the marketing of TV rights. “”We are open to any discussion; It is believed that it is in the interest of Canal, its subscribers and its shareholders. Our door is open, the ball is in the Canal+ camp“, Recalls of Tavernost. He did not escape him that the encrypted channel decided to retransmit in clear the first match of the season of Premier Leaguebetween Liverpool and Bournemouth.
This is programmed … at the same time as Rennes-OM, which makes teeth cringe. “”We are not there for a single match as important as it is, but for a long time, retort of Tavernost. Everyone does as they see fit for their operations. We trust the audience of the 1st day. I am not there to comment on the decisions of this or that operator. But we can consider that we are taken seriously.“