Coupe de France TV deal in limbo as France Télévisions cuts offer and beIN delay persists | OneFootball

With less than a week to Lens v Nice on 22 May, the Coupe de France’s TV future is unclear, with France Télévisions yet to renew and beIN Sports still to sign, according to L'Équipe.

France Télévisions has been the main rights contributor at eight million euros a year for free-to-air coverage, showing one tie per round and the final, but its deal is expiring and it now proposes four million.

The FFF has countered with a figure above four million but below the current eight, still cutting the public broadcaster’s costs, yet it has not had a reply and France Télévisions appears unwilling to move.

Budget pressure is acute at the public broadcaster, which made 15 million in savings by reselling nine of 15 Six Nations matches to TF1. Stéphane Sitbon-Gomez said he does not know next year’s budget, cannot give guarantees and said a 225 million fall since 2015 is unsustainable.

On the pay side, the Franco-Qatari channel first offered eight million a year through to 2030 for all matches from the round of 32, with one game sublicensed, then raised that to nine million after final talks led by FFF president Philippe Diallo.

The agreement was announced in mid-December but the contract remains unsigned. Diallo is due to meet Youssef Al-Obaidly, beIN Sports France president, on Monday, and the broadcaster wants stronger exclusive picks than under the current deal given its higher outlay.

Source: L'Équipe