Victoire H. Cogevina Reynal

Ligue1+: A Pivotal Shift in French Football's Business Model and beyond? The launch of the Ligue1+ platform by the LFP - Ligue de Football Professionnel marks a strategic pivot, driven by a decade of persistent financial instability in the domestic broadcast market - collapsed deals, hostile negotiations, and widespread financial uncertainty for its clubs. Ligue1+ has achieved a initial tactical victory in its phase, not just because it made it happen but as well by its aggressive initial subscriber acquisition. The platform's opening weekend successfully garnered over 600,000 subscribers, a initial success attributed to a highly competitive price point and a "hyperdistribution" strategy that leverages partnerships with major French telecommunications and streaming providers with exception of CANAL+ Group. Of course it is still too early to say how churn will be managed and how this community can be retained and be grown as well as technical challenges and piracy can impact the platform's long-term viability. And above all if the financial delivery and success will be attained, as it needs to generate the revenue required to sustain the league and its clubs. The ongoing, adversarial relationship with key market players, particularly Canal+, represents another major competitive threat. The LFP's goal is to directly target its fans and establish a direct relationship that was previously mediated by broadcasters and opens a very interesting opportunity for all the industry. For many years, clubs and leagues had limited knowledge and access to its own matches consumers, as those were “owned” by third party broadcasters. LFP seem to have understood the opportunity and a lot of work is currently being made on direct marketing to fans to support not just Ligue1+ but to be part of the rebuild of the entire French Football ecosystem. A very interesting statement on the meaning & width of this initiative was made a few days ago by my friend Pablo Longoria, Olympique de Marseille President, that should be read by all the football industry: https://lnkd.in/dRMbtstc If clubs, fans & the football family can work together, on promoting, improving & innovating a single product the effect can only be positive and be a massive ignition for leveraging Fan Loyalty at scale. The message of "directly supporting the league and your club" can be a powerful emotional driver for support, especially in a time of crisis, and could foster stronger brand loyalty than a third-party broadcaster ever could. Being the first of the "Big Five" European football leagues to launch a domestic DTC service, Ligue1+ has a first-mover advantage & can serve if successful as a blueprint for other leagues, potentially attracting future partners and investment. Everyone should be watching with interest.

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€1.18 BILLION in revenue. Without including player transfers. Real Madrid has just announced a historic milestone: Record revenues for the 2024/25 season from: - Strategic brand expansion - Media and content rights - Merchandising power - Stadium experiences - Global sponsorships Football clubs are no longer just sports teams. They are global media giants, lifestyle brands, and entertainment ecosystems. What we’re witnessing is the transformation of the football industry into an attention economy, where every match, every reel, every jersey, and every partnership contributes to the bottom line. It’s not just about the beautiful game anymore. It’s about storytelling, data, engagement, and above all value creation.

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This week I was asked about the barriers in sports tech at Sports & Invest Summit 💭 My thoughts: in Europe, barriers have nothing to do with sports, it has to do with the macro framework of early stage innovative companies. What if European startups could scale faster ❓ ( 👇 a position paper on the matter) Europe has no shortage of talent or ambition. Cities like Valencia, Paris, Tallinn, and Lisbon are buzzing with innovation. Yet scaling remains a challenge: 🚫 27 different legal systems 🚫 Administrative friction across borders 🚫 Limited access to venture capital (only 5% of global VC) 🚫 Difficult exits (IPOs, M&A) The result ❓ Many of Europe’s best startups flip to U.S. entities to grow — taking jobs, IP, and innovation with them. The 28th Regime aims to change that. Startups opting in would: ✅ Incorporate once, recognized EU-wide ✅ Manage taxes and governance digitally ✅ Hire, fundraise, and issue stock options across borders ✅ Focus on building, not bureaucracy The European Commission is working on the “28th Regime” — a new optional legal status that would allow startups to operate across all 27 EU member states under a single, unified framework. One incorporation, one tax system, one set of rules. A game-changer for scaling. The EU Comission launched an open consultation until the 30th of September, and you can give your opinion to shape Europe future, let me know if you want to participate ❗ EU–INC

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🎙️Next up on the pod, in conversation with FOX Sports 𝗖𝗘𝗢 𝗘𝗿𝗶𝗰 𝗦𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗸𝘀. Back after our summer hiatus with a brand new season of the 𝗦𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘀𝗧𝗲𝗰𝗵 𝗔𝗹𝗹𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘀 𝗣𝗼𝗱𝗰𝗮𝘀𝘁. Starting with a series I recorded on-site (which I always enjoy doing) at the New Global Sport Conference in Riyadh last month. We've got quite the guest to kick off the series. A 20-time Sports Emmy Award winner, Eric was named CEO in 2010 at the age of 38, and is believed to be the youngest executive to lead a broadcast network sports division. As far as claims-to-fame go, that's a pretty cool one. We covered quite a bit in our 20-minute conversation, from recent blockbuster sports deals to why Eric knows quite a bit about the Indian sport of Kabaddi. (Check out 'Pro Kabaddi' on YouTube if you don't know it—you will not be disappointed!) ✅ 𝗞𝗲𝘆 𝗧𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗮𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: ● An equity partnership like ESPN-NFL is not uncommon. Broadcasters have taken equity positions in sports properties before, and Fox has a number of such deals. But this is a first where a league takes an equity position in a broadcaster. Lots to unpack yet in this deal, so it's one to watch. ● Saudi Arabia is positioning itself as a major player in the global sports media landscape, their role as a host country to major upcoming events is a huge opportunity to tell powerful stories. Fox did that in some depth with the World Cup in Qatar, so have some experience with this. ● The rise of new entrants in the sports broadcasting marketplace will likely benefit mid-tier sports properties in the short term, though sports properties in general will probably need to lower their dependency on broadcasting revenue. ● Local media will continue to be a big pillar of sports consumption, it should not be lost. ● In terms of future trends and tech adoption, every sport has to understand what their specific needs are in terms of maximising revenue and driving growth. There is no one-size-fits-all. We also covered creator-lead streaming, alt-casts and a pretty novel 'favourite sporting moment'. Episode links in the comments.

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