© Sergey Zolkin
This is a landmark decision. On January 16, the Paris Judicial Court issued several decisions that strengthen the LFP's anti-piracy system. Here's what you need to know.
Two new measures against illegal streaming and IPTV
In detail, the LFP will be able to force Google and Bing to delist these illegal services even more effectively than in the past. This is progress for these rights holders, because football fans tempted by these illegal offers will no longer find matches directly by a simple search. This will also reduce the audience of pirate platforms.
The French justice system has also decided to grant new resources to the LFP to neutralize alternative DNS when they are used to circumvent measures to block pirate sites. This is yet another step forward for football leaders.
Given this success, the LFP was logically delighted in a press release, even if the tone remains cautious:
The LFP remains fully mobilized, in collaboration with the clubs and its broadcasters, to ensure effective protection of the Ligue 1 McDonald’s and Ligue 2 BKT championships, and to guarantee the integrity of the audiovisual rights of professional football.
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French football is playing for its survival
It remains to be seen whether this new arsenal will be enough. At the end of last year, Benjamin Morel, CEO of LFP Media, the commercial subsidiary of the Professional Football League, made a surprising announcement. It turns out that 37% of people who have followed the Ligue 1 championship since the start of the season have done so illegally. This figure could even explode during certain major matches, such as PSG-OM.
And this is anything but a detail for the leaders of French football. Indeed, the agreement between the LFP and the Ligue 1 broadcaster, DAZN, includes an important clause. If the sports streaming platform does not reach 1.5 million subscribers by December 2025, both parties can terminate the contract unilaterally. According to figures from the French media, the service would have only 400,000 today with fairly weak growth prospects.
From then on, the fight against piracy becomes a vital issue for the LFP, which no longer has a choice. The approach of the end of the year gives French clubs cold sweats and the scenario of a channel set up 100% by the League to compensate for the departure of DAZN remains on the table.
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