After a crackdown by Arcom against IPTV and the announcement of a plan to combat Ligue 1 piracy by Sports Minister Marie Barsacq, the fight against illegal streaming continues. A bill tabled in the Senate aims to create a "crime of piracy in the sports field", we learn from the newspaper Le Monde.
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In detail, this proposal relating to the “organization, management and financing of professional sport” was tabled by two senators, Michel Savin (Isère — Les Républicains) and Laurent Lafon (Val-de-Marne — Centrist Union), and incorporates some of the 35 recommendations of a report they prepared.
The offense in question that the text would create would not target consumers so much as those who put “to "making sports piracy sites and services, IPTV boxes, or software providing access to such services available to the public." Those promoting such services could also be targeted.
In the event of non-compliance, offenders risk serious consequences. The text provides for a fine of 300,000 euros and up to three years of imprisonment. The incentive to subscribe, for its part, could lead to €15,000 fine and one year in prison.
A text in a particular context for French football
The objective of the text is clear: to allow French professional football to get out of the rut. The sector is particularly affected by a conflict between the LFP (Professional Football League) and DAZN, the current main broadcaster of Ligue 1. In January, the latter had refused to pay a €35 million installment before the two parties reach an agreement.
The main broadcaster accuses French football authorities of not doing enough to combat piracy, which would explain its extremely low subscriber count, around 500,000. This is perhaps forgetting a little too quickly its beginnings as a broadcaster, having imposed a price of €40 per month without commitment to enjoy its programs. From its first month, in September 2024, the service was already revising its copy by lowering the entry ticket to €20 per month. The same thing happened in January, when DAZN has created an offer for those under 26 for €10 per month, or €69 to follow the entire season. The latest oddity: a partnership with the fast-food chain McDonald's offers three months of subscription in exchange for a meal.
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