PARIS: British platform DAZN and Qatari channel beIN Sports have acquired the TV rights to French football’s top-flight Ligue 1 for at least the next two seasons, a source close to the negotiations told AFP on Sunday.
The financial commitment is reported to be close to 500 million euros ($544 million) annually for domestic broadcast rights, while international rights will fetch a further 160 million euros plus 40 million for the second-division Ligue 2.
There remain a number of details to hammer out before the agreement, which is due to run for the period 2024-2029, is made official — including an exit clause for DAZN and France’s Professional Football League (LFP) in two years’ time.
The division of matches between the sports streaming platform and the Qatari channel is also yet to be finalized, although DAZN is expected to broadcast eight of the nine matches in each round, while beIN would get the primetime game.
The larger picture of the agreement was validated by the chairmen of Ligue 1’s clubs during an LFP board meeting on Sunday.
“Despite an incredible amount of work by (LFP chair) Vincent Labrune and several other chairmen, including myself, we were at an impasse, given the urgency of the situation,” Jean-Pierre Caillot, chairman of Reims and chair of the Ligue 1 board, told AFP.
“We had to find the best solution for the clubs in terms of exposure and cash flow. Finding and securing this agreement with DAZN and beIN Sports is the solution that, after several hours of discussions, the Ligue 1 chairmen were virtually unanimously in favor of.
“It’s obviously not the result we’d imagined at the outset, but it means that the future is not compromised,” added Caillot.
The clubs will earn a total of 700 million euros per annum to share between themselves. However, that amount is a far cry from the initial one billion euros the LFP hoped to attract for domestic rights alone when the rights were put out to tender last autumn.
The 2024-25 Ligue 1 season will begin on August 16.
DAZN and beIN Sports acquire Ligue 1 TV rights
https://arab.news/bv2v7
DAZN and beIN Sports acquire Ligue 1 TV rights
- British DAZN and Qatari beIN reportedly paid approximately 700 million euros per year for both domestic and international TV rights
- Deal valid for next two seasons
WEF report spotlights real-world AI adoption across industries
DUBAI: A new report by the World Economic Forum, released Monday, highlights companies across more than 30 countries and 20 industries that are using artificial intelligence to deliver real-world impact.
Developed in partnership with Accenture, “Proof over Promise: Insights on Real-World AI Adoption from 2025 MINDS Organizations” draws on insights from two cohorts of MINDS (Meaningful, Intelligent, Novel, Deployable Solutions), a WEF initiative focused on AI solutions that have moved beyond pilot phases to deliver measurable performance gains.
As part of its AI Global Alliance, the WEF launched the MINDS program in 2025, announcing its first cohort that year and a second cohort this week. Cohorts are selected through an evaluation process led by the WEF’s Impact Council — an independent group of experts — with applications open to public- and private-sector organizations across industries.
The report found a widening gap between organizations that have successfully scaled AI and those still struggling, while underscoring how this divide can be bridged through real-world case studies.
Based on these case studies and interviews with selected MINDS organizations, the report identified five key insights distinguishing successful AI adopters from others.
It found that leading organizations are moving away from isolated, tactical uses of AI and instead embedding it as a strategic, enterprise-wide capability.
The second insight centers on people, with AI increasingly designed to complement human expertise through closer collaboration, rather than replace it.
The other insights focus on the systems needed to scale AI effectively, including strengthening data foundations and strategic data sources, as well as moving away from fragmented technologies toward unified AI platforms.
Lastly, the report underscores the need for responsible AI, with organizations strengthening governance, safeguards and human oversight as automated decision-making becomes more widespread.
Stephan Mergenthaler, managing director and chief technology officer at the WEF, said: “AI offers extraordinary potential, yet many organizations remain unsure about how to realize it.
“The selected use cases show what is possible when ambition is translated into operational transformation and our new report provides a practical guide to help others follow the path these leaders have set.”
Among the examples cited in the report is a pilot led by the Saudi Ministry of Health in partnership with AmplifAI, which used AI-enabled thermal imaging to support early detection of diabetic foot conditions.
The initiative reduced clinician time by up to 90 percent, cut treatment costs by as much as 80 percent, and delivered a 10 time increase in screening capacity. Following clinical trials, the solution has been approved by regulatory authorities in Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain.
The report also points to work by Fujitsu, which deployed AI across its supply chain to improve inventory management. The rollout helped cut inventory-related costs by $15 million, reduce excess stock by $20 million and halve operational headcount.
In India, Tech Mahindra scaled multilingual large language models capable of handling 3.8 million monthly queries with 92 percent accuracy, enabling more inclusive access to digital services across markets in the Global South.
“Trusted, advanced AI can transform businesses, but it requires organizing data and processes to achieve the best of technology and — this is key — it also requires human ingenuity to maximize returns on AI investments,” said Manish Sharma, chief strategy and services officer at Accenture.
