Ligue 1+ Smashes One Million Subscribers in Groundbreaking Streaming Success

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More than one million subscribers have already signed up to the French Professional Football League’s (LFP) new Ligue 1+ direct-to-consumer (DTC) streaming platform in its first month of operation.

The service launched with a bang, attracting over 600,000 subscribers during its opening weekend, eclipsing the total number DAZN managed across the entire 2024/25 season, when it held the bulk of Ligue 1 rights.

Nearly three-quarters of current users (72 per cent) have committed for the full 2025/26 campaign, allowing the league to hit its first-year target inside a matter of weeks.

The LFP credits the strong start to wide distribution across France’s leading pay-TV and streaming providers, including DAZN, Orange, Free and Amazon Prime Video, as well as an expanded editorial line-up.

Ligue 1+ offers eight live matches each week, plus the Trophée des Champions, relegation play-offs and the final two rounds of the season. Subscribers also get magazine shows, behind-the-scenes documentaries and planned children’s programming.

Competitive pricing has been central to the uptake. Standard monthly access is set at AUD $26.60 with a promotional $17.70 rate for the first three months.

Viewers under 26 can lock in a permanent $17.70 plan, while a flexible month-to-month option is available at $35.50.

The league reportedly invested AUD $117m to establish the platform and is targeting between 2.2 million and 2.5 million subscribers within four years.

Talks are ongoing for a carriage deal with Canal+, France’s most influential pay-TV network, to further boost reach.

Ligue 1’s bold streaming gamble pays off in record time

Ligue 1’s decision to launch its own DTC service followed a string of failed broadcast arrangements, including the collapse of an AUD $5.77 billion deal with Mediapro in 2020.

For a long time, the league was unattainable in France without multiple expensive subscriptions, leaving fans in a tough spot between spending more money across multiple platforms or simply not accessing some of their biggest domestic matches.

By bringing domestic broadcasting fully in-house, it became the first of Europe’s “big five” leagues to distribute its matches on its own platform, an experiment that the global sports industry is watching closely.

With Bundesliga hunting for a more ‘content creators’ approach with its Mark Goldbridge partnership and French football leaning towards owning its streaming service, we are starting to see a big positive shift in how consumers are treated.

The early numbers show why the gamble was the best call they could make. Wide distribution, sharp pricing and strong support from clubs have driven rapid adoption and given the LFP a direct relationship with fans.

While clubs must adapt to more variable revenue and low entry prices mean profits will take time, Ligue 1 has seized control of its media future. The success of Ligue 1+ proves that owning the pipeline to supporters can deliver both reach and long-term financial security, setting a precedent other major leagues may soon follow.

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Melbourne Victory and BYD drive innovation through new major partnership

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Melbourne Victory has officially welcomed BYD as a Major Partner and the Club’s exclusive Motor Vehicle Supplier for the next 12 months. At a partner launch bringing together the two organisations, the focus is on building around innovation, growth and a drive for success. The partnership will place BYD at the centre of Melbourne Victory’s fan experience. The brand will feature on the front of both the A-League men’s and women’s home and away jerseys. This gives BYD a strong presence across matchdays, broadcasts and digital content throughout the season.

The partnership extends well beyond the playing kit. BYD will be integrated across Melbourne Victory’s media, Academy and community assets. The two organisations will also collaborate through Member and pathways programs. This creates opportunities for BYD to connect with Victory supporters across multiple touchpoints.

For BYD, the partnership provides a direct connection with Melbourne Victory’s growing supporter and member base. The automotive brand has built a rapidly expanding presence in Australia and New Zealand. Its partnership with Victory provides another platform to build awareness and engage with Australian consumers. BYD Australia Chief Operating Officer Stephen Collins said the alignment between the two organisations was a key factor behind the deal.

“At BYD we’re enormously excited to welcome the Melbourne Victory into the BYD family as an exclusive automotive partner,” Collins said.

“What really appeals to us was the culture of innovation and the hunger for success.”

That alignment is reflected in the way the partnership will operate. BYD will not simply appear on Melbourne Victory assets. The brand will be connected to the Club’s members, fans, business network, pathways and community programs. Melbourne Victory Managing Director Caroline Carnegie said the partnership reflects a shared ambition for continued growth. She also highlighted the organisations’ common focus on leading, connecting and inspiring their communities. Together, Melbourne Victory and BYD will bring the partnership to life across matchdays, media, community initiatives and supporter experiences throughout the 2026-27 season.

Episode 4: “You could have sold it out twice”: Peter Filopoulos on why unification is the way forward

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PETER FILOPOULOS sees Saturday’s Australia Cup final between Melbourne Victory and South Melbourne Hellas as a ‘unification event’ that must be harnessed as a window to the future – rather than a means of stirring up old division – if Australian football is to progress.

“This game sold out organically, and having run marketing, corporate affairs and communications at Football Australia previously, I don’t think they would have needed to spend one single dollar on marketing,” Filopoulos told Soccerscene Unfiltered.

“You could have probably sold it out twice! This tells me it’s the sort of product the fans want; it’s authentic and taps into the new and the old, and demonstrates culture as a real asset. You couldn’t have scripted it better.

“If I was in a decision-making position at the A-League, I’d be looking very closely at why fans have responded in such an emphatic way.”

Filopoulos has seen it all across his near-35 year career in sports administration, which by his calculation has been split evenly inside the Australian football tent and outside it – but when outside, always with at least one eye glancing back.

Fifteen years across AFL clubs Hawthorn & North Melbourne as that code moved from a financially traumatic 1990s into a wealthier new millennium; five years at Football Australia: ‘easily the most transformative period for Australian football in its history’; stints with Etihad Stadium and even a period ‘completely out of my comfort zone’ at Swimming Australia.

There’s been crisis management, stepping in as Perth Glory CEO after the 2015 salary cap scandal; he’s seen the A-League’s boom times under the Lowys & Fox Sports’ 2018 broadcast deal; he’s enjoyed the euphoria of the 2023 Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.

But all stems back to the National Soccer League and South Melbourne Hellas, and his bold decision to take on the Club’s inaugural general manager position in December 1993, aged just 25.

“I wasn’t ready… but what it taught me is when an opportunity is presented to you, just say ‘yes’ and work out how to do it later. I’ve used this throughout my career, and that was one of those instances where I threw myself in the deep end.

“I had my career mapped out, and was working quite happily in accounting. But I was a passionate fan and having grown up at the old Middle Park, it was a natural ‘yes’ – and I was young enough to take a risk.”

With today’s A-League financially ailing and great clubs of yesteryear enjoying what Filopoulos terms a ‘renaissance’ – and agitating as vociferously for a return to the top flight as at any point since the demise of the NSL – he feels it is again time for bold leadership, and a little risk.

“You can have all the ambition in the world, and in being part of a club, you’re a custodian. But as I’ve always seen it, you need a sustainable commercial model: sound ownership, sound facilities, revenue, etc…

‘But you also need to understand how to tap into that asset of culture. What we’re seeing with the Australia Cup final is a result of culture, right? You need to create it amongst your fans, and know who your fans are, and tell them what you’re striving for. Bring them along on the journey!”

Catch the full chat with Peter Filoupolos on Soccerscene Unfiltered: from ‘eyeballing’ Frank Arok and backing Ange Postecoglou, overcoming resource challenges at Football Victoria, to the rise of the Matildas, and plenty more…

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