Ligue 1 (France) switches from SportFive to IMG/TWI

[da_cfo]

This throws a small money wrench into FOX Sports International's plan to renew the US and Canadian TV rights to Ligue 1.

Instead of doing a package deal with SportFive for both Bundesliga and Ligue 1, FSI will have to negotiate separately for the two products: Bundesliga with SportFive and Ligue 1 with IMG/TWI.

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IMG/TWI Press Release

http://www.sportcal.com/news/business_press_release.asp?releaseID=25195

TWI has won a four-year deal for the international broadcasting rights to French football’s top league, becoming the new partner of the LFP (Ligue de Football Professionel.)

TWI gained the rights for all territories outside France after offering a varied and diverse service to France’s Ligue 1.

Its multi-layered strategy will:


- produce different versions of highlights, specifically, edited versions of live matches as TWI already does for the English Premier League

- also produce a multi-language version of a new international website

- promote the image of their League through regular updates and Club / Player profiles throughout regular news and features in various well-established magazine shows such as Futbol Mundial and Trans World Sport

- harness the expertise of SNTV, the sports news agency joint venture between Associated Press and TWI, who will also play a very pro-active role in promoting the League
organise worldwide tours and special events with the Clubs

Rather than concentrating on trading the broadcast rights, TWI will instead heavily invest time, energy and expertise in promoting the French League as a brand.

It will be underpinned by the activities of the IMG Football agent division who will devise a co-ordinated approach to build interest in French national stars abroad. The IMG sponsorship division will also be involved in marketing the programmes.

Fulco van Kooperen, TWI Vice President and Head of Football, said: 'This approach will hopefully inspire other governing bodies to think about the big picture rather than the short term profit.'

Stephane Schindler, International Vice President, Head of Media Business Affairs, France, said: ' With the recent performances of Monaco, Lyon and Olympique Marseille, this is a dream start the French League deserves.'

Michel Masquelier, TWI’s Senior Vice-President - Head of Sales, said: 'In the short term, we are confident of tripling audiences, and, if played correctly over the next seven years, we expect the French League be in the world Top Three in terms of media profile.'

The French deal follows IMG/TWI’s recent success in renewing its contract to handle the sponsorship, licensing and television rights of the next two Rugby World Cups in 2007 and 2011.

Further information:

Madeleine Pallas, PR Manager for European Operations,
TWI, Tel +44 (0) 208 233 7425 or +44 (0) 7973 326 422
mpallas@imgworld.com

[superdave]

Michel Masquelier, TWI’s Senior Vice-President - Head of Sales, said: 'In the short term, we are confident of tripling audiences, and, if played correctly over the next seven years, we expect the French League be in the world Top Three in terms of media profile.'
Given that France was the #2 colonial power in the 19th century, this is a realistic goal. Aggressive, but realistic. There are alot of places where people speak French.

[da_cfo]

Given that France was the #2 colonial power in the 19th century, this is a realistic goal. Aggressive, but realistic. There are alot of places where people speak French.

Not really.

The places that speak French are either so far behind (the Caribbean and Africa), or have other established sports (i.e. Quebec, where "Le Club de Hockey Canadiens" is "le roy").

English Premier League will remain the undisputed king of exportable sports entertainment products for years to come. EPL is already #1 in much of east and southeast Asia, outdrawing other products by as much as 10 to 1 in markets such as Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, and Hong Kong. EPL and NewsCorp, now joined at the hip, will do whatever it takes to keep EPL #1.

[DAGSports]

I can now see only three reasons for FSI to renew Ligue 1.

1. Get the rights in Argentina and Brazil, which should have some worth as many top Argentine and Brazilian internationals play in Ligue 1- Juan Pablo Sorin, Edmilson and Giovane Elber come to mind, and Gabriel Heinze played there before earning a lucrative move to Man U.

2. The opportunity to show tomorrow's EPL stars. Virtually every EPL club keeps a keen eye on Ligue 1 for prospective talent, which typically can be acquired for less than the cost of a comparable player in Holland or Germany.

3. Player profiles for use on FSW Report and FOX Football Friday.

However, if FSI can also get the French language rights, then it could force TV5 to pay-up for rights that would help sell subscriptions. That would probably cover most of the gap between the Canadian sublicense fee to FSW Canada and the actual rights fee.

Otherwise, SportFive provides Bundesliga as a condition of showing the best UEFA Cup games and FSI should just take those and say no to Ligue 1.

[DAGSports]

Not really.

The places that speak French are either so far behind (the Caribbean and Africa), or have other established sports (i.e. Quebec, where "Le Club de Hockey Canadiens" is "le roy").

English Premier League will remain the undisputed king of exportable sports entertainment products for years to come. EPL is already #1 in much of east and southeast Asia, outdrawing other products by as much as 10 to 1 in markets such as Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, and Hong Kong. EPL and NewsCorp, now joined at the hip, will do whatever it takes to keep EPL #1.
Indeed. And the only product I see coming close (i.e. half EPL's ratings) in the near future is the US PGA Tour, who's international package usually includes the majors. Golfers from virtually every major nation and even a decent portion of Asia now compete in most of the US Tour's main events.