CSA highlights French sports market growth

France’s sports rights market grew by 25% between 2011 and 2016, reaching €1.45 billion at the end of last year, according to a study by media regulator the CSA.

Growth was driven primarily by an increase of the value of rights for international markets, according to the regulator. Of the €1.45 billion, 80% was captured by football, with rugby taking close to 10% and other sports sharing the remainder, according to the CSA’s report, Sport et Télévision: Contributions Croisées.

The value of international rights grew by 82% between 2011-16 to reach €525 million, while the value of rights in the domestic market grew by only 7% to reach €929 million.

The report cited the figure of €727 a year for the value of Ligue 1 football rights for the seasons from 2016-20, up the €607 million a year secured for the 2012-16 period. This however represented a decline from the €668 million a year taken between 2008-12.

France’s Top 14 rugby competition, by comparison will secure revenues of €97 million a year for the 2019-23 period, up from €74 million for 2015-19. The global value of the Euro football championship for 2016 was €947 million.

Growth in the overall value of rights was accompanied by growth in the number of hours of sports coverage transmitted and the number of sports disciplines aired on TV. According to the CSA, the number of hours aired more than doubled between 2010-16 to reach 212,000 hours last year. The number of disciplines covered jumped from 21 in 2010 to 31 in 2016. At the same time, the number of hours of coverage of women’s sports more than doubled between 2012-16.

According to the report, 25 pay TV channels and 12 free-to-air channels offered sports content by the end of 2016, up from 21 and nine respectively in 2010.