CCTV to cover Ligue 1 in China

The Ligue de Football Professionnel, the French football league, has sealed a rights deal with Chinese state broadcaster CCTV.

The deal with CCTV, which will run for the remainder of the 2017-18 season through to the end of 2020-21, was agreed by the LFP and its international rights-holder beIN Media Group.

From the 2018-19 season, two matches per match-day from the top-tier Ligue 1 will be broadcast live via CCTV5, CCTV5+, Feng Yun HD, the CCTV5 app and CNTV.

The Ligue 1 Show and Ligue 1 Highlights magazine programmes, produced by beIN, will also be provided in full. Ligue 1 highlights will be broadcast in Total Soccer and Champion’s Euro, CCTV5’s flagship football shows.

The LFP said as part of the deal, several Ligue 1 matches from the remainder of this season will be broadcast by CCTV, as well as the 2018 Trophée des Champions, the annual contest between the Ligue 1 champion and the Coupe de France winner.