Netflix has acquired in France the TV rights of the Ligue 1, the Champions League and the Europa League opening interesting prospects also for the Italian market
A news that could change forever the market of TV rights related to the world of sports: Netflix from August 17, 2020 will broadcast exclusively in France all the matches of the Champions League 2020 – 2021. The streaming platform dedicated to TV series and movies has reached an agreement with Mediapro and will have the exclusive rights to broadcast the top European competition on its “channels”. It’s a huge coup for Netflix, which launches itself in the TV rights sector and could change the structure known so far forever.
The agreement closed between Netflix and Mediapro is not only related to the Champions League. Netflix, in fact, will also broadcast Ligue 1 and Europa League matches, becoming the platform of reference for all soccer lovers in France. Soccer matches will not be included in the standard Netflix subscription, but it will be necessary to buy a new subscription that at a cost of 30 euros per month offers matches from Ligue 1, Champions League, Europa League, movies and TV series.
Although it does not concretely concern the Italian market, the news is actually very interesting, especially in this period in which the Lega di Seria A is discussing TV rights for the three-year period 2021 -2024, with the creation of a media company by the companies that produces “in house” the championship matches and then resells them to those directly involved, including platforms such as Amazon Prime Video and Netflix.
Champions League 2020 – 2021 on Netflix in France
The announcement by Netflix that it has acquired the TV rights to the Ligue 1, Champions League and Europa League for the French market is potentially explosive news. After arriving in over 200 countries around the world and becoming the leading video streaming platform for original movies and TV series, Netflix has also decided to focus heavily on sports rights. This decision of Netflix will have repercussions all over Europe, just in the period in which most leagues are rediscussing TV rights for the next years. Already Amazon has bought from the Premier League the possibility to broadcast some matches on Twitch and now Netflix relaunches with the exclusivity of Ligue 1 and the main European team competitions in France.
The most interesting aspect, however, concerns the price: Netflix has announced that it will launch a new subscription at a monthly cost of 30 euros that will include all soccer matches (Ligue 1, Champions and Europa League) and all TV series and movies. The only requirement to be met is the annual subscription bond.
Netflix invests in soccer, what can happen in Italy
The Lega di Serie A is discussing in these weeks what to do about the TV rights for the three-year period 2021 – 2024. De Laurentiis has presented his own plan that focuses on the creation of a media company with the production of the matches made directly by the Lega di Serie A that resells the signal to those directly involved. The goal is to broaden the audience of interested broadcasters, opening up especially to on-demand platforms, Amazon and Netflix in primis. And the agreement in France between Netflix and Mediapro could favor this solution.