DAZN Shuts Down LFP's Attempt to End Broadcast Deal—A Fresh Crisis for Ligue 1
French football is knee-deep in broadcasting drama yet again. On April 15, 2025, Ligue 1 clubs agreed to scrap their domestic TV deal with DAZN after just one season, offering a €140 million payout to close things out. But DAZN wasn’t having it. The streaming giant brushed off the proposal, leaving the league’s future revenue streams hanging by a thread. This standoff only adds fuel to the ongoing bonfire that is French football broadcasting.
Last summer, the numbers looked optimistic—LFP (Ligue de Football Professionnel) signed a four-year, €1.6 billion contract with DAZN, a move that was supposed to bring stability after years of chaos. Ligue 1 would get €400 million each season through 2029, with the flexibility to end the agreement after just one year. DAZN took over from Canal Plus and Amazon, promising to stream eight of the league’s nine weekly matches. Only beIN Sports shared those rights. But less than a year later, everything’s turned sour.
The cracks started to appear in January. DAZN held back €35 million, blaming piracy headaches and weak support from clubs and the LFP in promoting matches. It claims those problems are tanking its ability to deliver value and attract subscribers. Fast forward to this spring, and now DAZN is suing, aiming for a monster €573 million in damages. They say the LFP didn’t live up to its end of the deal—especially when it comes to fighting illegal streams and hyping up the French game to fans.
Ligue 1 Faces Serious Financial and Legal Headwinds Again
The rejection from DAZN leaves Ligue 1 sides stuck on unstable ground. The LFP can say all it wants that DAZN should carry on with payments until the season’s done, but with the legal battle heating up and trust in short supply, there’s no guarantee money will keep flowing. Clubs worry about how they’ll pay players and balance their books next year. This mess isn’t new. Fans remember Mediapro swooping in with a record €624 million per year deal in 2020, only to vanish months later after missing payments. That disaster forced Ligue 1 to scramble for stopgap arrangements, slashing budgets and selling off stars to stay afloat.
There’s another layer here—French football has been caught in a loop, constantly trying to stabilize its TV rights market amid piracy, underwhelming subscription numbers, and disputes over who’s responsible for getting fans hyped. DAZN’s frustrations mirror those of earlier broadcasters: they want more help tackling bootleg streams and creative efforts to market matches. But the LFP and clubs say they’ve been pulling their weight and the problems stem from unrealistic revenue targets in the first place.
Fans, meanwhile, are caught in the middle again. The uncertainty over where—and how—they’ll watch Ligue 1 next year clouds the entire league’s appeal and threatens to push even more eyes away from the French game. With legal threats, unpaid bills, and no quick fix in sight, French football’s biggest challenge might just be convincing its own supporters that the league’s future isn’t all doom and gloom.