Our take...
Both the LFP and Canal Plus will be happy with the outcome of the auction: the pay TV broadcaster was able to secure the vast majority of its football coverage for the next four years for less money: sources quoted in French press claimed it is paying €460m a season compared to €600m under the present contract. Orange's reported outlay will be €208m a season. The LFP, by dividing the rights into multiple lots, succeeded in opening up the auction even though Canal Plus, following the 2006 merger of Canalsat with TPS, is by far the largest pay TV platform in France. Its only headache will be Saturday evenings, where it will lose a key part of its schedule – though matches from other European leagues or French club rugby could be a substitute. Orange could either exploit the rights to its live package itself by setting up its own TV service or sub-license the rights to another broadcaster and simulcast the matches on broadband or mobile. As for its two mobile packages, Orange has the rights to show afternoon matches live and to packages of highlights. Orange has more than one million mobile TV subscribers on its 3G network in France – more than twice the combined number of SFR and Bouygues – and is the only mobile operator to have applied for a DVB-H licence. It now seems highly likely that its application will be successful.