LFP Leaves U.S. and International Ligue 1 Fans in the Dark

This is supposed to be a time of excitement for Paris Saint-Germain supporters. The club has announced the signing of João Neves, and after a month of waiting, Désiré Doué appears to be headed to the French capital as well. However, for many fans around the world, including those in the United States, worry is setting in as there is currently no broadcast deal in place to air PSG and Ligue 1 matches this season.

On this episode of PSG Talking, I'm joined by long-time contributor Marc Damon and newcomer Mike McNally to discuss just how one of Europe's top leagues has left international fans in the dark with just a few days before the start of the 2024-25 season.

We start with a discussion of the current situation regarding the domestic and international broadcast rights for Ligue 1. We talk about who the decision makers are, what organizations are involved, and how French football is drifting behind the Premier League, La Liga, the Bundesliga, and Serie A.

The absence of a legitimate broadcaster, especially in the United States, underscores the failure of the Ligue de Football Professionnel (LFP) to promote Ligue 1 in the country. We discuss the impact of not marketing Ligue 1 in the U.S. and how clubs like A.F.C. Bournemouth and Wrexham A.F.C. have traveled to the U.S. to build a fanbase while Ligue 1 clubs have not.

We agree that beIN Sports is most likely going to be the last-minute suitor for Ligue 1 rights in the U.S., but the LFP seems to be holding out for something better. Whether better means more money or more viewers remains to be seen, but DAZN, HBO Max, and Apple TV could be potential options if beIN Sports does not get the rights.

We conclude the show by discussing Ligue 1 as a content vessel and how it should be easy to sell to distributors worldwide. Ultimately, passionate fans in the U.S. and elsewhere will suffer until the LFP figures out how to get the product on as many televisions, computers, tablets, and mobile devices as possible. The league is falling behind and needs to make drastic moves to first cater to the fans who care about the league the most and then build upon that fanbase to secure the health of the league overall.

As always, thank you for listening. Be sure to subscribe and rate the show wherever you download your podcasts. For bonus episodes of PSG Talking, subscribe to PSG Talk Extra Time on Substack.