The league did not specify the reasons for the extension, but said that it welcomed the strong competition for the rights. It also confirmed that France Telecom's Orange unit had bid for all available rights in the initial round of bidding.
According to French press reports nine bidders submitted offers for various packages of rights, including Vivendi units Canal Plus and SFR, TF1, Bollore's Direct 8 channel, and social networking website DailyMotion.
Canal Plus currently holds the exclusive live rights for Ligue 1 games in a deal worth €600 million a year.
