Lyon owner John Textor slams Ligue 1 and PSG following TV rights agreement | OneFootball

The Ligue 1 broadcasting rights for the upcoming cycle (2024-2029) were finally attributed on Sunday evening, just one month ahead of the new season. However, the news was not greeted with open arms by all, especially not by Olympique Lyonnais owner John Textor.

On the eve of the meeting that would decide who would take the broadcasting rights, Textor released a statement, via OL, calling for the creation of a Ligue 1 channel. This was one of the options on the table during Sunday’s meeting and whilst Textor was not fully on board with the option in its entirety, he agreed with the broader notion.

“Signing a long-term deal with traditional broadcasting models is looking towards the past, we should be turning to the future,” said Lyon’s American owner. However, clubs voted in favour of a deal with DAZN and beIN Sports, which will bring in €500m per season, however, the cost for the consumer will be significant, almost €50 per month.

Textor criticised the deal in a now-deleted Instagram post, where he highlighted the link between Franco-Qatari broadcaster beIN Sports and Paris Saint-Germain, owned by Qatari Sports Investments (QSI). “Congratulations to BEIN Sports! The PSG Network has once again secured the right to run PSG promotions over OL games,” he said.

GFFN | Luke Entwistle