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"The evolution of the media and entertainment industries has had a profound impact on the management of sports broadcasting rights, driving significant changes in how rights are acquired, sold, and distributed"

David Labrune, International Media Rights Director at LFP Media and member of the French Chamber, discusses how LFP Media is reshaping the global image of French football. From promoting Ligue 1 McDonald’s internationally to adapting to new digital trends, he highlights their strategies and challenges, particularly in the UK.

Can you tell us about LFP Media and its role for French football?

LFP Media plays a pivotal role in the French football ecosystem as the commercial arm of the Ligue de Football Professionnel (LFP), which oversees the 2 professional men championships, Ligue 1 McDonald’s and Ligue 2 BKT. 

Established to bolster the financial growth and international visibility of these competitions, LFP Media is responsible for selling their domestic and international media rights. It aims to increase the value of these rights through negotiations with broadcasters and digital streaming platforms, aiming to bring in substantial revenue for French clubs. It partners with broadcasters to enhance the global reach and visibility of our competitions. 

In addition to strategic media rights management, LFP Media’s role is also crucial in positioning French football as a competitive, commercially attractive, and globally visible entity thanks to marketing activations and digital engagement strategies.

Overall, LFP Media enhances the appeal and competitiveness of Ligue 1 McDonald’s and Ligue 2 BKT on the world stage, thus also supporting French clubs in becoming globally relevant.

What are your key objectives and projects for the coming months, particularly in the UK?

Since August 23rd, LFP Media is broadcasting every Ligue 1 McDonald’s match to its fans residing in the United Kingdom via its streaming platform, known as the “Ligue 1 Pass ». The Ligue 1 Pass includes Ligue 1 McDonald’s matches as well as a wide variety of original content produced specifically for the platform, plus several innovative functionalities that will be rolled out throughout the season. 

We were more recently delighted to also bring highlights of our championship to the widest possible audience in the UK thanks to a strategic partnership with ITV, which broadcasts the weekly Ligue 1 McDonald's highlights magazine compiling all the best footage from the previous weekend. 

To keep up the good momentum, we continue to work with the various organizations involved to promote Ligue 1 Pass to the expatriate community in a market that remains the largest home to French expatriates.

How has the evolution in the media and entertainment industries impacted your approach to managing broadcasting rights and promoting football competitions?

The evolution of the media and entertainment industries has had a profound impact on the management of sports broadcasting rights, driving significant changes in how rights are acquired, sold, and distributed. 

One of the key changes definitely comes from the rapid rise of streaming services and online platforms like Netflix, Amazon Prime, and specialized sports streaming services like DAZN. As they compete with traditional broadcasters - marking the end of their monopoly over sports content - viewing habits have become intensely fragmented. This shift has forced rights holders like us to rethink how they distribute their content, to ensure that it is available where fans expect to watch it. Direct-to-Consumer models have thus been developed by many leagues, digital content also fostering a stronger focus on the fan experience by providing additional means to deliver localized, but more importantly, personnalized content. And this is the path we have chosen to follow with the Ligue 1 Pass launch in the UK, a market that boasts a mature OTT offering.

What specific challenges do you face in developing Ligue 1 McDonald’s internationally, especially in the UK?

France is one of the best football nations with 4 World Cup and 2 Euro Cup finals played in the last 13 editions, a record among European countries. Likewise, there is no denying that Ligue 1 McDonald’s is among the highest-quality championships with a strong tradition of talent, world-class young players, clubs, and academies (with 5 French clubs academies ranked within the Big 5 Top 20). And yet, Ligue 1 has been suffering from an image problem, being seen as a “farmers’ league” by our English friends, one of the oldest feuds that has ever existed.

Ligue 1 has however opened a new chapter. For the last two years, LFP Media has brought together its teams, new partners, an increasing number of clubs, players and even certain cultural figures, to help start transforming Ligue 1’s look, attitude and story. We revealed a new brand identity end of last season, and we continue applying this new positioning in everything we do. 

Whether it’s in terms of regions, of passion, of identities, of cultures or of talent, the French football’s diversity is what makes France such a well-known and inspiring country around the globe, as well as making French football the best in the world. This diversity also makes multiculturalism one of French football’s biggest assets. Ligue 1’s ambition is to be turned into an iconic brand rooted in France’s cultural heritage, by putting football at the heart of excellence and of youth culture. In the UK, like everywhere else, the objective is to showcase what French Football is about. Football, but French. 

What do you hope to achieve by joining the French Chamber of Great Britain, and how do you see collaborating with other members to meet these objectives?

As new comer in the BtoC business in the UK, business connections offered by the Chamber will be an unvaluable opportunity to reach potential partners and fans. 

Ligue 1 McDonald’s is a real value proposition for corporates with unlimited activations possibilities - ranging from watch parties to lucky draws organization. We therefore hope to team up with as many CCIF France UK members as possible to promote the Ligue 1 Pass towards their employees, partners, clients, or any other community to which our asset could speak to! 

LFP Media is the commercial branch of the Ligue de Football Professionnel, driving the global visibility and financial growth of French football by managing media rights and fostering strategic partnerships.