The National Assembly is examining a bill on Monday to reform professional football, which includes a proposal to broadcast one Ligue 1 match per matchday on free-to-air television. The LFP is opposed to the measure.

Will a Ligue 1 match soon be available free-to-air every week? After several delays, the National Assembly is finally reviewing the proposed law (PPL) aimed at reforming French football today. As previously reported, the bill contains an amendment to broadcast one match from the French championship per matchday on a free-to-air channel.

“It would undeniably contribute to the exposure of French football”

Currently, watching a Ligue 1 match requires a subscription to the Ligue1+ platform, starting at €15 per month. The platform has approximately one million subscribers. “The increase in the number of broadcasters for different sports competitions, and thus the multiplication of pay-TV subscriptions, strongly distances spectators from sporting events and encourages the development of piracy,” explain the deputies who filed the amendment. “To allow the greatest number of people access to these professional competitions, each time television rights are sold, a package for the free-to-air broadcast of one match per week should be provided. Broadcasting one Ligue 1 match free-to-air per weekend would undeniably contribute to the exposure of French football. This proposal comes from the report of the information mission on audiovisual broadcasting rights for sporting events, led by deputy Cédric Roussel in 2021.”

“Two years ago, the Professional Football League (LFP) estimated that 22 million French people were interested in French Ligue 1,” recalls sports economist Pierre Rondeau. “Of those 22 million, there is one million subscribers to Ligue1+. There is enormous potential to capture a new audience. If we tell them it’s free, perhaps one, two, or four million would watch on television.”

The LFP does not share this view. The league opposes the amendment, arguing that free-to-air broadcasts could reduce the value of broadcasting rights, which account for more than 50% of clubs’ revenues. Intense lobbying by the league and television channels in front of deputies has been ongoing since the announcement and up to today’s review.

The proposed law was already adopted by the Senate last year, and then by a committee in the National Assembly in May, where this amendment was added. After its passage in the hemicycle this Monday, the bill can still be modified by the joint committee (CMP) scheduled for July 21. The text covers a wide range of issues: anti-piracy measures, a strengthened role for federations and the Ministry of Sports in the governance of professional leagues, regulated redistribution of audiovisual revenues, and capped compensation for executives. We reached out to the LFP, club presidents, and Ligue1+, but received no response.