Canal+ won’t carry Ligue 1 streamer
July 1, 2025
Canal+ will not distribute Ligue 1’s new in-house direct-to-consumer service after turning down a proposed deal, Canal+ President Maxime Saada has confirmed in an interview with French daily L’Équipe.
France’s top-flight football league is prepping to stream games on its own streaming service in the new season after the Ligue de Football Professionnel (LFP) prematurely ended their deal with DAZN following a dispute over subscriber numbers and alleged failures by the league to combat piracy.
Ligue 1 had been in talks with Canal+ with regards to becoming the new platform’s exclusive distributor with the league seeking around €200 million for a package that would also have seen Canal+ co-broadcast the Sunday evening match – but reports suggest Canal+ was only willing to pay around half that amount, and has consequently walked away from the deal.
“If the LFP launches its television platform to broadcast Ligue 1, it will not be able to rely on Canal+ to be the support,” Saada said in the interview. “Canal+ is throwing in the towel. We have chosen to give up. To date, we consider that the conditions are not met for Canal+ to distribute the new platform.”
Ligue 1 will now likely seek to gauge interest from other networks and platforms for its streaming service, including the likes of Prime Video, Orange and WBD – or they may even seek a new distribution agreement with DAZN.
The 2025/26 Ligue 1 season kicks off on August 15th.