Broadcaster DAZN has rejected a proposal brought forward by the French Professional Football League (LFP) to terminate its five-year broadcasting deal for Ligue 1 after one season.
The sports streaming platform originally signed a five-year deal worth AUD $715 million (€400 million) a year to broadcast eight out of the nine Ligue 1 matches each week.
But with fewer subscribers than expected — reportedly only around 500,000, far below the 1.5 million needed to break even, the company has been pushing to renegotiate the deal.
In February, DAZN held back half of a AUD $125 million (€70 million) payment, accusing the LFP of not doing enough to fight piracy.
It also criticised the league and clubs for not promoting its broadcasts or collaborating on content.
The LFP responded by taking legal action, and DAZN eventually made the payment by the end of the month.
In March, both sides entered mediation to reach a compromise.
According to several reports, the proposed solution would have DAZN pay the league AUD$250 million (€140 million) — covering the full amount owed for this season — plus up to AUD$223.6 million (€125 million) in compensation for next season.
After that, the deal will officially end at the close of the current season.
This week, Ligue 1 clubs voted in favour of the proposal but DAZN has now rejected it, paving the way for possible legal action.
As a result, the LFP released a statement regarding DAZN’s rejection of the proposal.
“LFP Media notes the failure of the mediation initiated at the beginning of March 2025,” they said in a press release.
“The contract binding the parties remains in force and LFP Media expects its partner to fully fulfil all of its obligations in this regard.”
Before the mediation process began, DAZN had demanded AUD $1.025 billion (€573 million) in compensation from the LFP, accusing the league of not living up to its end of the deal.
In response to the LFP, DAZN released its own statement.
“After four months of discussions — including six weeks of mediation — initiated in good faith by DAZN and involving several proposals, the mediation unfortunately did not succeed in sufficiently bridging the gap between the parties,” they said following the LFP’s statement.
“It has therefore not been possible at this stage to reach an agreement for an amicable resolution of the situation.”
DAZN’s rejection of the deal has effectively ended the mediation process, with negotiations between the streaming service and the LFP now finished.
However, reports from France indicate that the two sides are expected to meet again on April 30th, the deadline for DAZN’s next payment for the current season.
