LFP Denies Abandoning Ligue 1+ Streaming Platform

Ligue 1+ launched in the summer of 2025 as a direct-to-consumer streaming platform for French professional soccer, securing one million subscribers within its first month of operation. The French Professional League created the service after a collapse in conventional broadcast rights revenue left clubs facing significant financial shortfalls. That development prompted an unnamed media executive to tell RMC that LFP Media was effectively calling time on Ligue 1+ in only its second season.

Defending the Direct-to-Consumer Model

The French Professional League denies that it is abandoning the streaming service. Speaking on the SportsPro Podcast, LFP head of media platform and innovation Cyprien Castanedo acknowledged that talks with broadcasters are underway while maintaining that the streaming service remains vital to the league’s path forward. Castanedo stated that new LFP Media chief executive Olivier Bramly views Ligue 1+ as the core strategy for the organization after months of building infrastructure from scratch. He noted that the league remains rational and business-wise regarding future offers from external broadcasters.

“If at some point there is a big offer on the table that makes more sense for the clubs we will obviously consider them.” “If at some point someone wants to put €1 billion on the table, that would also be welcome.”

Arresting a Domestic Rights Crisis

The creation of Ligue 1+ followed a prolonged market struggle for domestic broadcast rights that intensified when DAZN withdrew early from a five-year contract worth €400 million annually. That exit compounded the earlier collapse of a €3.25 billion, four-year deal with Mediapro during the Covid-19 pandemic. Long-term partner Canal+ declined to bid following Mediapro’s entry, while BeIN Sports and Amazon proved reluctant to expand their commitments. The LFP used €100 million in compensation from DAZN to fund the platform, offering eight matches per week for €14.99 monthly on an annual contract or €19.99 on a rolling basis, alongside a €9.99 rate for viewers under 26 to combat piracy.

Financial Realities for Top-Flight Clubs

Despite early subscriber milestones and distribution carriage deals with Orange, Free, and Amazon Prime Video, the platform has not instantly closed the revenue gap with Europe’s other top leagues. Top-flight French clubs shared €142 million from Ligue 1+ subscriptions last season, supplemented by €78.5 million from BeIN Sports and an €85 million one-off compensation payment from DAZN. By comparison, Germany’s Bundesliga, Spain’s LaLiga, and England’s Premier League all generate more than €1 billion annually from domestic rights alone.