Sportradar grab Ligue 1 broadcast rights

ts-betting data supplier Sportradar have today announced an agreement with international media firm MP & Silva granting them exclusive retail rights for French Ligue 1 football.

The contract gives Sportradar access to a minimum of 125 matches for the 2013/14 football season, starting with Toulouse v Marseille this weekend. The matches will be broadcast on the Live Channel that Betradar (part of the Sportradar group) provides to retail betting outlets.

Ligue 1 is enjoying a new wave of global attention thanks to big-spending French teams signing some of the world's top players this summer, such as Paris St Germain (Edinson Cavani) and AS Monaco (Falcao) – and interest in watching and betting on the league is expected to enjoy a boost as a consequence.

The deal extends Sportradar's links with MP & Silva and guarantees them license to broadcast over 500 annual sporting events. The package also includes French Ligue 2 and Coupe de la Ligue, Major League Soccer (MLS), a package of ATP 250 Tennis tournaments, ACB Spanish Basketball League, Handball EHF Champions League, German Handball-League and assorted additional international rights.

Sportradar managing director of media rights Joern Anhalt said: “Through these deals, we gain top-class international sports for our Live Channel for our retail betting customers. Ligue 1, equipped with top international stars like Falcao, Ibrahimovic and Thiago Silva, is an absolute highlight for our customers and will increase customer satisfaction in betting shops for sure.

"Our focus is to provide clients with live sports content during their entire opening hours. To achieve this ambitious goal, we will continue to further expand our media rights portfolio," he said.