Piracy continues to weigh heavily on the French football economy. During a hearing before the Senate regarding the TV rights crisis, Nicolas de Tavernost, the outgoing CEO of LFP Media, estimated that piracy had cost Ligue 1+ approximately €100 million. According to him, the platform could have gained 400,000 additional subscribers without illegal streaming and pirated IPTV.
Ligue 1+, a still fragile success
Launched to regain control over broadcasting the championship, Ligue 1+ now boasts just under 1,1 million subscribers. Nicolas de Tavernost considers the platform a success, but the model remains fragile: to secure the clubs' revenue in the long term, the League must continue to convert viewers into paying subscribers.
Ligue 1, the primary target of sports piracy
The head of LFP Media also pointed out that Ligue 1 plays a central role in sports piracy in France. According to him, half of the piracy-related complaints filed with Arcom concern Ligue 1. Arcom, for its part, confirms that the blocking of illegal sports content has increased significantly, with 4,212 blocks in 2024 through court orders and notifications from the regulatory authority.
IPTV, streams, VPN: the invisible fight
Piracy is no longer limited to a few randomly found streaming links, but also involves illegal IPTV services, Telegram groups, mirror sites, and sometimes VPNs. For the LFP (French Professional Football League), every viewer who illegally watches a match is a lost potential subscriber. And that's on the scale of an entire league. weakened by TV rightsThe bill becomes enormous.
Stronger sanctions demanded
Nicolas de Tavernost argues for a tougher fight against piracy, including targeting certain users. He believes that current sanctions are not sufficiently dissuasive and sees the new legislative proposals as an important lever for accelerating blocking and better protecting broadcasters.
