French soccer’s Ligue de Football Professionel (LFP), organizer of the top-flight Ligue 1, has announced that Martin Aurenche, senior director of media at the LFP Media commercial subsidiary, has left his post.
Aurenche, who in particular was responsible for the sale of media rights both domestically and internationally, joined the body in early 2023, back when the subsidiary was unveiled.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
Prior to that, he had spent over 11 years at pay-TV heavyweight BeIN in a variety of roles, primarily related to sports content and acquisition.
He first joined that organization with the launch of BeIN’s French operation in 2012 to manage major relationships with international rightsholders and negotiate key acquisitions, before being promoted to vice president of sport content acquisitions in 2018.
A qualified lawyer, he led and managed BeIN’s central acquisitions team globally, responsible for both rights acquisition and distribution, principally spending his time in the key group offices in Paris, London, and Doha, but also focusing on the group’s interest and operations in the Americas and Asia.
More recently, he played a part in the establishment of Ligue 1+, the soccer competition’s in-house direct-to-consumer broadcast service that has become the league’s primary broadcaster over the past season.
US Tariffs are shifting - will you react or anticipate?
Don’t let policy changes catch you off guard. Stay proactive with real-time data and expert analysis.
By GlobalDataHis former employer BeIN, of course, is at the crux of the LFP’s recent travails, at least according to the LFP itself.
This is the second major exit from LFP Media this month after director general Nicolas de Tavernost also announced his departure, citing friction with BeIN as a key driver in that decision.
Reportedly, the long-time French media executive had butted heads with top side Paris Saint-Germain and club president Nasser Al-Khelaifi (who also heads up BeIN), accusing the Qatari businessman, the club, and the TV giant in one go of not pulling in the same direction as the other 17 sides in the top flight.
That latest dispute stemmed from BeIN’s capture of 2026 and 2030 FIFA World Cup rights in France, despite De Tavernost claiming victory in the tender for Ligue 1+ (but without having finalized the deal, allowing BeIN to steal a march on them).
Sportcal understands that BeIN has felt attacked by the LFP, in a continuation of the recent acrimony between the two stemming from long-held media rights disputes.
Either way, the move was a big blow to LFP’s plans to monetize Ligue 1+ year-round with a diversification of content beyond the standard Ligue 1 rights.
Although the reason behind Aurenche’s departure is unknown, it is possible that the increasing crunch on Ligue 1’s media business played a significant factor.
