Eleven Belgium, the country’s arm of the international sports subscription broadcaster, has secured rights until the end of the 2023-24 campaign to French soccer’s top-tier Ligue 1 through an agreement with the league’s global sales partner BeIN Sports.
Eleven will put the best of the Ligue 1 action for the next two-and-a-half years, starting immediately, on its over-the-top live streaming platform and mobile app in both Belgium and Luxembourg, beginning with fixtures this upcoming weekend.
Through the deal with BeIN, which represents the French soccer's governing body the LFP internationally, the platform will stream an average of seven games per matchday, with two selected matches each week to be offered in both French and Dutch commentary.
The deal brings Ligue 1 action back to Belgian households after the 2020-21 season (and the first few matchdays of the ongoing 2021-22 campaign) passed without an agreement between a broadcaster in that country and the top French league.
Belgian stars at Ligue 1 clubs in neighbouring France are plentiful, with the quota including Jérémy Doku, Jason Denayer, Wout Faes, Thomas Foket, Matz Sels, Amadou Onana and Eliot Matazo.
The league can also now claim to feature arguably the world’s best player, with Argentinian superstar Lionel Messi having joined Paris Saint-Germain in the summer.
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By GlobalDataGuillaume Collard, chief rights acquisitions and distributions officer for Eleven, said: “We want to deliver the very best live sport to our audiences and Ligue 1 is a fantastic addition to our portfolio. We know our subscribers are going to enjoy keeping up with all the top Belgian talent playing in the French league.”
Mathieu Ficot, deputy managing director of the LFP, added: “We are delighted that Ligue 1 is making its return to Belgian screens with a broadcaster as well-known as Eleven. This new agreement demonstrates the growing international appeal of Ligue 1, now available in 213 territories around the world."
The deal adds to what is already a bulging portfolio of top-tier European soccer for Eleven Belgium. The broadcaster holds rights to Spain’s LaLiga, Germany’s Bundesliga, Italy’s Serie A and the English FA Cup knockout competition, as well as domestic rights to Belgium’s top Pro League.
In terms of international soccer, the broadcaster holds rights, through a deal with European soccer’s governing body Uefa, for qualifying matches to both the 2024 European Championships, and the 2026 Fifa World Cup.
The wider Eleven Group meanwhile also holds Ligue 1 rights in both Poland and Portugal, where it is also active.