While ambiguity still dominates the re-purchase of Lig 1 TV rights, a few years ago it was felt unthinkable: young people were leaving football on television. According to a study by the Association of European Associations in seven countries, including France, 30% of 18-24 year olds claim to be football fans. Suffering from a particular disappointment, can football become attractive again?
On Netflix, Disney +, video games and social networks, games are just a product of many entertainment. After all, the form is not very accommodating. “Those 90 minutes, I can use them for other things,” said Lily-Sophie, a 20-year-old student who calls herself a football fan. Generation Z now switches more to short content. “I’d like to see a summary. It’s very short. It’s convenient in the metro. It lasts five minutes, and you can even watch multiple summaries. It’s like we saw a lot of games in 10-15 minutes.”
Investigations have been halved in ten years
Audience figures confirm Lily-Sophie’s words. Small screen football doesn’t impress as much. In ten years, French football spectators have been halved, According to the newspaper Capital. On Canal +, an average of half of the league 1 races are watched as Formula 1 Grand Prix, which has attracted approximately one million viewers on each broadcast in recent months.
What can French football do to get out of this bad link? Some suggest getting inspiration from the NBA. With its planetary stars and spectacular actions, American Basketball offers one-click and smartphone remotely breathtaking contractions. Free already understood the message by purchasing digital rights for League 1. “Digital rights are becoming more and more important,” says sports economist Pierre Rondio. According to him, the telecommunications company is good enough to rub its hands: “By 2024, Free knows full well that it will only pay 42 42 million a year. In a few months, [les droits] Can be precious. “
Clubs are trying to innovate
Clubs are also being called upon to embrace the lack of supporters in the Improcleo and stadiums surrounding TV rights. For example, Olympique de Marseille is going to popular sites among young people and creating its revolution. OM was the first French club to create its own channel and launch it on the live video broadcasting site “Twitch”. The two friendly matches that aired were successful last summer, bringing the total to nearly 270,000 viewers.
“There are other ways to reach football supporters than television, and Twitch is one of these ways,” said Hughes Overd, general manager of the Marseille club, who was interviewed by Europe 1. “Through Twitch we have the opportunity to connect with people directly. Follow us. At this time we need a very strong need for supporters to keep in touch with their club during the critical times we are going through.”
Not losing everything, the youngsters can win back through football. Olympique de Marseille also found that jerseys are still sold as hot cakes. The challenge now is to diversify. Here again, OM acts as a pioneer with the help of Antoine Griezmann or its own music label, once it launches its e-sports team.
