Ligue 1 chief ‘not worried’ by Mediapro’s Italian woes

Didier Quillot, the director-general of the French professional football league, has said he is “not worried” by Mediapro’s loss of Serie A football rights in Italy and has said that the respective situations in Italy and France are “not comparable”.

Speaking to on the edges of the league’s general assembly last Friday. Quillot said that the organization also benefited from a joint guaranteed from Mediapro’s key shareholder.

Mediapro will be the principal holder of Ligue 1 football rights from the 2020 season, having to committed to pay €1.15 billion per season for the rights.

Mediapro secured the bulk of the rights to Ligue 1 football for the 2020-24 period at the end of last month. The Catalan group committed to create a dedicated sports service for France to distribute its Ligue 1 rights.

Quillot said that the Italian league had “used Mediapro” to increase the price that pay TV leader Sky was forced to pay to retain Serie A rights.

The Italian league rejected a a €1.6 billion guarantee by Spanish broadcaster Mediapro that was designed to rescue its deal for Serie A rights in the country.

La Lega president Gaetano Miccichè said that the matter was “resolved” and that the league would go ahead with its plan for a fresh sale of the rights, with initial offers to be assessed this week. Miccichè said, in line with the terms of its contract with Mediapro, the league would also be keeping the €64 million deposit already paid, opening the way to a likely legal action by Mediapro.

Mediapro initially secured the rights to Serie A in a deal that would have seen it pay €1.05 billion a season for the next three seasons. However, a Milan court annulled the agreement after pay TV operators Sky filed a complaint.