VIVENDI's pay-TV business Canal Plus and Be In Sports are in exclusive talks over a distribution and licensing deal that would allow Canal Plus to broadcast some of France's coveted Ligue 1 soccer matches as it seeks to revive its subscriber base.

Traditional media companies like Canal Plus are under pressure to find ways to bulk up their content as they face competition from deep-pocketed online streaming platforms such as Netflix and newcomers in the sports rights business such as Chineseowned Mediapro.

Canal Plus, a particular focus for Vivendi's leading investor Vincent Bollore, built a reputation of broadcasting major soccer matches but ended up empty-handed in last year's broadcasting rights auction for Ligue 1 covering 2020 to 2024.

The auction marked the dramatic entry of Mediapro, majority-owned by Chinese private equity fund Orient Hontai, onto France's broadcasting stage. Its involvement helped to push up annual broadcasting rights for France's top soccer league to a record of more than €1.15bn (£970m).

Out of the seven lots offered last year, three were won by Mediapro, including the one featuring the league's top 10 matches.

Reuters

(c) 2019 City A.M., source Newspaper