French Cup Without Broadcaster: TF1 and M6 in the Running to Fill the Void

The French Cup is entering its seventh round without a free-to-air broadcaster. Since France Télévisions demanded to cut its annual contract in half from 8 million euros, the French Football Federation (FFF) has been left without an audiovisual partner for a competition whose Round of 32, with the entry of Ligue 2 clubs, is scheduled for the weekend of December 19.

The most serious lead points to TF1. France’s leading channel co-broadcast the French Cup from 1997 to 2006 and could regain the competition’s flagship matches, including the final. A return that would fill a void left open for nearly twenty years.

M6 remains in the running, although the group’s financial situation complicates negotiations. The channel suffered significant losses when broadcasting the 2026 World Cup last summer, despite record audiences. It is also about to offer a third and final UEFA Champions League final at the end of the current season.

L’Équipe channel could position itself on certain matches, although its budget remains very tight. As a last resort, the FFF is considering broadcasting matches on its own platform, FFFTV, if no satisfactory offer emerges by then.

Five Ligue 2 clubs have already been eliminated in this seventh round — Dijon, Dunkerque, Boulogne-sur-Mer, Rodez and Guingamp — illustrating that the competition is advancing, television rights or not. The FFF hopes to find a solution in the short term, pending a possible upheaval in the French sports audiovisual landscape from 2027 onwards, when American giants like Disney+ or Paramount could enter the battle for Ligue 1 rights.