Justice/Ligue 1 TV rights: Canal+ ordered to pay €332m per year to beIN Sports for Lot 3

The Paris Commercial Court has ordered the Canal+ group to honour its sublicensing agreement with beIN Sports France and to pay it €332m per season for the settlement of Lot 3 of the Ligue 1 Uber Eats broadcasting rights, for the 2020-2024 cycle, on 05/07/2022.

Canal+ had sublicensed the lot from beIN Sports, as part of an exclusive distribution agreement, for €332m per season on 09/12/2019. Canal+ had written to beIN Sports France to inform it of its intention to withdraw from its sublicensing agreement, considering that the latter had not fulfilled its obligations to challenge the contract, which was considered prohibitive, following Amazon's acquisition, in June 2021, of the rights to Ligue 1 initially held by Mediapro for more than three times less than the amount staked by the Spanish group (€250m vs €780m).

The Versailles Court of Appeal upheld the Court of Nanterre's initial decision of 05/08/2021, ruling that Canal+ could not terminate its sublicensing agreement with beIN Sports for Lot 3, on 31/03/2022.

The Court also ordered Canal+ to pay €50,000 to beIN Sports France and…