Al Jazeera looking to French Euro 2012 rights

Al Jazeera has made a €130 million bid for the French rights to the Euro 2012 championships, beating a rival offer from French broadcasters TF1 and M6, according to reports.

RMC Sport/BFM TV has reported that the Qatari broadcasters has offered UEFA €130 million for the rights, beating TF1 and M6’s joint bid of €100 million.

RMC Sport has also reported that Al Jazeera has held talks with Orange Sport and the French football league’s own channel, CFoot, about airing the championship. Al Jazeera does not have a sports channel of its own in the French market. However, media regulator the CSA obliges the rightsholder to air the French national team’s games in the clear, which could present a significant obstacle to the broadcaster. CFoot is present on the French digital-terrestrial pay TV platform.

It was reported last month that Al Jazeera was seeking to acquire exclusive English Premier League rights in the Middle East and also pay-per-view rights in the UK. In France is a shareholder in the Paris Saint-Germain club and owns certain rights to the French championship for the 2012-16 seasons.