Canal+ kicks back at TF1 in Champions League

Pascale Paoli-Lebailly ©RapidTVNews | 12-12-2011

Challenged by the Al-Jazeera Sports which was granted the full pay-TV rights to the 2012-2015 Champions League, Canal+ has deprived French competitor TF1 from first-choice rights.

The channel has been granted first pick on 13 matches despite the fact that TF1 has been broadcasting UEFA Champions League in clear since 1990.

The French encrypted-channel, which has not disclosed the amount of the deal, will just have the obligation to ensure a clear broadcast of the final match. If the CSA doesn’t agree with that, the pay-TV group could also decide to run the match on newly acquired DTT channel Direct 8. Canal+ also gets the rights to the UEFA TV magazine.

Reacting to the announcement, TF1 has attempted to diminish the impact of the loss saying that it’s not a big deal “because Champions League audiences are no more high enough (sic), like what TF1 can expect at 9:00pm.”

The group argues audiences have decreased over the last three seasons from an average of 6.7 million viewers in 2009-2010 to 4.8 million since the beginning of the 2011-2012 season.