🇫🇷 Ligue 1 Launches its Own Streaming Service

This week we launched a YouTube video breaking down the pros and cons of the Premier League launching its own streaming service.

The video has sparked a lot more newsletter followers so welcome to the 237 of you who have joined this week.

Its perfect timing to have you here. Right now in France, that exact idea of a league-owned streaming service is being tested in real time. After months of failed negotiations and a collapse of the DAZN deal, Ligue 1 has decided to launch its own direct-to-consumer platform called Ligue 1+!

Today, we explore whats happening with the incredible broadcast situation in France and also the acquisition of Newcastle Falcons by none other than energy drink giants Red Bull!

Starting in August 2025, fans in France will be able to watch 8 of the 9 weekly Ligue 1 matches on a new in-house platform run by the league itself.

Crucially, matches will be available through Amazon Prime Video as well as Internet Service Providers in France like Orange, Free, SFR and Bouygues.

The service will cost €14.99 per month, or €12.99 for those subscribing through Prime Video.

To break even, the LFP say they need one million subscribers in year one and 2.5 million by year four.

This is the most aggressive domestic streaming rollout any major European football league has attempted and I am fascinated by the ambition. DAZN proclaimed to have acquired 400,000 subscribers at the time of their termination from French broadcast rights. Their price point however, was €35.99, not €14.99, so this entrant from Amazon is intriguing.

The Premier League is watching. So too, I imagine are European broadcasters across the continent.

If Ligue 1+ works, Premflix might not be a question of if but a question of when. If it doesn’t, it strengthens the position of broadcasters around Europe and leaves French football in an even worse state than it currently is in!

Many people complained about the price point of the DAZN offering saying it was too expensive to subscribe to. I am starting to think the price was not the issue and that there is a deeper rooted cultural problem in France where there simply isn’t enough demand for football in the country to run a profitable broadcast setup that rivals other European leagues.

Ligue 1+ will certainly let us know if my thesis is correct!

Elsewhere, Red Bull have officially taken full ownership of Newcastle Falcons rebranding them as the Newcastle Red Bulls ahead of the 2025–26 Premiership Rugby season.

This is the energy giant's first outright investment in rugby and arguably their boldest sporting statement for many years.

For context, the Newcastle Falcons have finished bottom of the Premiership for the last three straight seasons and were carrying large debts in excess of £30m! By acquiring the club, Red Bull have absorbed those debts.

Interestingly, within 24 hours of the deal, season-ticket sales hit record highs.

If you have been a follower of my platform you’ll know that I have been very observant of the declining popularity of rugby in the United Kingdom. Every single team in the league is a loss-making team. Three Premiership clubs (Wasps, Worcester Warriors, and London Irish) have folded since 2022 as a result. So I was surprised to see a team receive this investment from such a reputable company.

I was also surprised to see Red Bull being the ones take this project on!

The RFU’s CEO and Premiership Rugby leadership unsurprisingly welcomed this cash injection, they labelled it a major boost for the league’s competitiveness and “growth trajectory”. It’s the first majority investment in a Premiership Rugby club since 2016 and quite frankly, it has come at a much needed time for the sport.

If you haven’t seen my report on the state of rugby in the UK, watch below:

The declining broadcast revenues shown at the very beginning of that video once again highlight just how important broadcast revenues are to a sports league.

As soon as we get information on the “performance” of Ligue 1+ you will find out here. Similarly, as soon as we see financial accounts posted by Newcastle Falcons you’ll also see here.

I will leave you this week with the conclusion of an incredible match from The Hundred.

A few days ago in Nottingham a fantastic 5-ball set from Jofra Archer set the stage for the final five from Tymal Mills…

thehundred

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Electric scenes.

See you next week.