Ligue 1 TV money aligns with Netherlands and Portugal, edges Belgium | OneFootball

Ligue 1’s TV income now sits alongside the Netherlands and Portugal, only narrowly ahead of Belgium, with limited rights cash spread across its 18 clubs.

L'Équipe reports that, pending updated LFP Média figures, about €120m in net domestic rights, or €180m including international distributions linked to UEFA indices, should reach the clubs. The 2016-2020 cycle delivered €726.5m gross per season, a distant memory.

In Belgium, Jupiler Pro League sides share roughly €70m to €80m net, €102m gross, averaging around €4m to €5m per club.

The Netherlands sit slightly higher, with Eredivisie teams on about €115m net, €135m gross plus an initial €70m bonus, near €6m per club on average. The top earner is near €15m and the bottom about €3m, similar to France’s 18th.

Back in December 2021, LFP president Vincent Labrune told senators French football had to rebuild an attractive competition within two years to maximise the 2023 tender and adapt to UEFA’s 2024 reform, which gives four Champions League berths to the top five leagues, warning that dropping out would lock France into a European second tier.

The aim he outlined, to push Ligue 1 behind the Premier League in Europe’s TV revenue top tier, now looks illusory. Despite stars such as Lille’s Olivier Giroud, France’s capacity to turn rights into real club income is weak, leaving it closer to Europe’s middle leagues than the elite.

Source: L'Équipe