The Ligue de Football Professionnel (LFP) has taken a bold step into the direct-to-consumer (DTC) streaming space with the launch of its own in-house platform, Ligue 1+, after failing to secure a long-term domestic broadcast deal. Early signs suggest the gamble is paying off — more than 600,000 subscribers signed up during the opening weekend of the French football season.
A Cheaper Alternative to DAZN
Ligue 1+ is priced at €14.99 per month, half of what DAZN charged French fans (€29.99) during its short-lived rights tenure. The LFP also introduced tiered packages, including a €9.99 plan for under-26s and a flexible month-to-month option at €19.99.
This competitive pricing strategy reflects the league’s attempt to combat piracy and win back trust after DAZN walked away from its five-year deal following just one season. DAZN had targeted 1.5 million subscribers but reportedly struggled to surpass 500,000, falling victim to high costs and widespread illegal streaming.
By contrast, Ligue 1+ has already matched DAZN’s total sign-ups in just one matchday — a significant signal of market demand when affordability meets accessibility.
What Fans Get
Subscribers receive exclusive coverage of eight live games per week, along with:
- The Trophée des Champions
- The relegation playoffs
- The final two matchweeks of the season
- Magazine programming and behind-the-scenes access
The platform has also introduced new features such as referee room footage and dressing room coverage, signaling a push towards greater transparency and entertainment value.
Distribution and Early Challenges
Despite ending its broadcast deal, DAZN remains a distributor of Ligue 1+, alongside Amazon, Orange, Bouygues Telecom, Free, SFR, and more recently, Molotov (FuboTV-owned).
Launch weekend was not entirely seamless — Amazon faced issues streaming pre-match coverage and magazine shows on the opening Friday. However, these glitches were quickly resolved, and LFP Media chief Nicolas de Tavernost described other challenges as “minor difficulties.”
The bigger picture remains positive. Tavernost noted that fans appear to view Ligue 1+ not merely as a channel, but as a “new spirit for professional football” — one they feel ownership over.
Ambitions and Benchmarks
The LFP has set clear targets:
- 1 million subscribers by the end of the season
- 2.5 million subscribers within four years
To achieve this, the league is continuing negotiations with Canal+, which previously withdrew from distribution talks. Securing Canal+ would broaden reach and enhance credibility, though for now the focus remains on scaling Ligue 1+ independently.
Context: Football’s Broadcast Perma-Crisis
The decision to build a DTC platform comes after years of instability in French football’s media rights market. The collapse of Mediapro’s €3.25 billion deal in 2020 triggered a cycle of uncertainty, forcing the league to repeatedly patch together short-term solutions.
Now, Ligue 1 becomes the first of Europe’s “Big Five” leagues to domestically broadcast matches through its own platform. The outcome will be closely monitored by other competitions considering similar moves.
365247 Insight
Ligue 1+ represents both a high-stakes experiment and a potential blueprint for the future of European football broadcasting:
- Pricing matters: By halving subscription fees, the LFP is winning fans back from piracy and disillusionment.
- Control and ownership: Running its own platform allows the league to dictate production, storytelling, and fan experience.
- Revenue challenge: While subscriber numbers are encouraging, the real test is monetisation. Lower pricing means Ligue 1 will need both retention and scale to match revenues generated under traditional broadcast deals.
The key question is whether Ligue 1+ can maintain momentum throughout the season — and, crucially, whether success emboldens the league to raise prices once fans are locked in.
For now, the early win demonstrates that when sport is packaged affordably, authentically, and under direct league control, fans respond.
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