January 30 – Ligue 1+, the broadcast streaming channel owned by the league, is making its boldest and perhaps its riskiest move to date after securing French rights to the entire 2026 FIFA World Cup through a deal with FIFA.
The in-house streaming platform, owned by the LFP, will carry all 104 matches, marking its first major acquisition of external premium rights and a significant expansion beyond domestic league content.
Nicolas de Tavernost, chief executive of LFP Media, confirmed the agreement at a meeting of Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 clubs this week. The package includes the 54 matches already held by free-to-air broadcaster M6, which will be shown alongside its linear coverage on Ligue 1+.
On paper, it’s a logical play. The World Cup is the one property guaranteed to deliver mass national engagement, and it neatly fills the offseason gap for a league-owned platform that otherwise risks subscriber churn between campaigns. The 2022 final drew a record average audience of 25 million viewers in France, thanks to their epic final versus Lionel Messi’s Argentina. With Les Bleus among the favorites for 2026, demand is expected to be strong.
The reported cost is €20 million total, including €18 million in rights and €2 million in production, is relatively modest by World Cup standards. But context matters. The LFP is still absorbing the financial shock from its recent domestic rights turmoil, including the collapse of its DAZN agreement and ongoing distribution friction involving beIN. Ligue 1+ was launched as a recovery vehicle, priced at €14.99 per month annually or €19.99 rolling, but subscriber revenues remain well short of replacing traditional broadcast deals.
Early figures showed just over one million subscribers, with the majority on discounted annual plans which is nowhere near enough to close the rights gap left by failed cycles.
Betting on World Cup traffic could boost brand visibility and retention. But after bruising experiences with DAZN and beIN, the LFP is putting money upfront and trusting that the audience and the model will follow.
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