FRANCE LIGUE 1 IN DISPUTE WITH DAZN
The French Ligue de Football Professionnel (LFP) commenced a legal action before the Tribunal for Economic Activities (TEA) of Paris against DAZN, the global sports subscription video streaming service, for withholding half of a US$72.7 million (around Sw. Frs. 63.8 million) instalment, due in January to LFP, and having placed the other half in an escrow account.
DAZN, this season, entered into a four-year contract under which it agreed to pay LFP US $415.5 million (around Sw. Frs. 365 million) a year in respect of the French rights to eight of the nine Ligue 1 fixtures each weekend.
DAZN has stated that “it either wants to renegotiate a much lower annual fee or activate the break-clause in its deal… [and] …walk away at the end of next season.”
This is because DAZN claims that the Ligue has “not done enough to help tackle digital piracy in France,” and that some French clubs have “not helped DAZN shoulder content for its Ligue 1 platform or with efforts to promote its service.”
It is also reported that DAZN had anticipated around 1.5 million subscribers but only reached approximately 500,000, making its investment in French football less profitable than it expected.
The LFP had sought, as a matter of urgency, from the Court “an order against DAZN to pay the sums stipulated in the contract and an injunction to perform all of its contractual obligations.”
However, after weeks of tension, DAZN agreed to settle the January instalment as part of a mediation process initiated by the President of the TEA of Paris, leading LFP withdrawing its emergency legal action. In an official statement, the LFP confirmed that both parties have reached an initial agreement that resulted in DAZN paying the outstanding instalment and the LFP withdrawing its request for an urgent Court order.
Whilst this has temporarily eased tensions between the parties, the core issues of the dispute remain unresolved.
Negotiations are ongoing to reach a broader settlement addressing the concerns of DAZN regarding piracy protection and the commercial viability of Ligue 1. The outcome of these negotiations will be crucial, as DAZN retains the right to terminate its contract in December 2025, potentially destabilising the broadcasting structure of the Ligue.
One possible outcome of this dispute could be for the LLP to cut out the middleman and, instead, offer to consumers directly its own streaming service, which may be less problematic.
For further information about our sports litigation professional services in France, email Dr Estelle Ivanova, the Head of our French Desk, at ‘ivanova@valloni.ch’.