Official: Canal+ secures F1 broadcasting rights for 3 years
Expected bombshell in the French Formula 1 scene: Canal+ secures, after a long bidding process, the broadcasting rights for the sport for three seasons at a cost of 29 million euros per year.
The TF1 group has been broadcasting Formula 1 in France since 1992, but this will change this year, as the broadcasting rights for the Formula 1 Grand Prix have been awarded to Canal +.
Following a tender for the next three seasons, on which TF1, beIN Sport, and M6 had also placed bids, the encrypted channel secured the rights to broadcast Formula 1 in France for an amount of 29 million euros per year, whereas TF1 had spent 31 million euros in 2012 to broadcast Formula 1. However, the latter wanted to cut costs and spend less, particularly due to declining viewership of the sport in France.
The CANAL+ Group is pleased to have obtained, exclusively and in full, the rights to the FIA Formula 1 World Championship. Subscribers of CANAL+ channels will be able to follow all the Formula 1 Grand Prix in full, starting from the new 2013 season on Sunday, March 17 in Melbourne, Australia. The rights also cover the exclusive broadcast of free practice sessions, qualifications, and magazines, stated the Canal+ Group in a press release.
The statement also specifies that all the channel’s F1 programs will not be encrypted, so a magazine dedicated to Formula 1 will be broadcast every Sunday, free-to-air: « In this framework, the Group will offer on the day of each Grand Prix, a major free-to-air magazine dedicated to Formula 1. »
The love story between Canal+ and Formula 1 is not new, as this Valentine’s Day marks the return of a union that was first celebrated in the late 1980s and early 1990s when the then-young channel broadcasted Grand Prix races, commented by Thierry Gilardi and Patrick Tambay. Later, in the early 2000s, Canal+ reconnected with the leading discipline through its “pay-per-view” channels on Kiosque. This news is, of course, delighting Cyril Linette, Canal+ sports director, as quoted by AFP: “It is a great joy and a great satisfaction. It’s a very prestigious acquisition, of the highest order, as there is no other series of the same level in the world of sports.”
