The British sports media company, DAZN Group has announced that it has secured the exclusive streaming rights to the French top League, Ligue 1 in Japan for the upcoming 2022-23 season.
The agreement in the previous season consisted of one live match per week on the worldwide French-language channel TV5 Monde, the recently conjured contract marks the return of comprehensive Ligue 1 coverage in Japan.
However, discussions with SPOTV Now about a sublicensing deal for Premier League rights appear doubtful to flourish in time for the beginning of next season.
In the past, DAZN owned Ligue 1 media rights in Japan from 2015-16 to 2017-18, and from 2018-19 to 2020-21. An extension of the deal did not take place last year. DAZN’s new agreement began with the coverage of the Trophée des Champions preseason match between Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and Nantes which took place yesterday.
The agreement was reached with beIN Sports, Ligue 1’s international rights distribution partner. beIN Sports will distribute Ligue 1 international rights until the end of 2023-24.
Takumi Minamino of Monaco, Eiji Kawashima of Strasbourg, Ado Onaiu of Toulouse, and Junya Ito of Reims are among the Japanese players currently playing in Ligue 1.
Recently, Paris Saint-Germain successfully completed a pre-season tour of Japan. The tour showcased sold-out stadiums and unprecedented merchandise sales. PSG has prioritised Japan in its worldwide marketing initiatives.