French commercial broadcaster M6 has replaced digital terrestrial channel L’Equipe as the free-to-air (FTA) broadcast partner of American football’s NFL after securing a three-season deal.
The deal, running from 2023 to 2027, will see M6 air 18 regular season matches live on its streaming platform 6play, three playoff matches on its W9 linear channel, and the Super Bowl on its main M6 channel.
The agreement marks the return of the NFL to M6, with the broadcaster having previously aired the league’s flagship Super Bowl between 2010 and 2018. L’Equipe held FTA rights to the NFL between 2020 and 2022.
Pay-TV broadcaster BeIN Sports has held France's main NFL rights package since 2012.
During a press conference, Nicolas de Tavernost, chair of the M6 group, said: “The NFL is a huge success in Germany, it is not yet in France. We are going to promote it in all its aspects.”
The deal adds to M6’s portfolio of sports rights, which includes 18 games from this year’s Rugby World Cup in France and games played by the French women’s national team until 2027.
The agreement comes after the New Orleans Saints were granted international marketing rights in France - the NFL club to select and be awarded the French market.
The program grants NFL clubs access to international markets for marketing, fan engagement, and commercialization activations as part of a long-term strategic effort to enable clubs to build their brands globally while driving NFL fan growth beyond the US.
NFL clubs can apply for rights to selected international markets by submitting proposals to the international committee annually.
Teams are awarded rights for at least a five-year term through the program. During this period, a club has rights to pursue activities in that international market “that are largely consistent with what they can do in their home market.”
The NFL is seeking to build its presence further in Europe after successfully staging a regular season game in Germany last year - a feat Brett Gosper, NFL’s head of UK and Europe, said the league is keen to replicate in France.
A sell-out crowd of 69,811 gathered at Allianz Arena, home of German soccer champions FC Bayern Munich, to watch the Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat the Seattle Seahawks 21-16. The league has since committed to staging at least three more games in Germany up until the 2025 season.
German broadcaster ProSieben generated a record 2.7 million viewers, making it the most-watched NFL regular season game ever in the country. DAZN Germany, meanwhile, said the game was the second most-watched NFL broadcast on its streaming platform after the Super Bowl.
Fanatics, the NFL’s official e-commerce partner and exclusive event retail operator in Europe, said gameday merchandise sales at Allianz Arena broke records for an NFL game outside the US.
The NFL, meanwhile, said its German social media channels gained 30,000 followers.
