The French football league has concluded a last-minute broadcast deal for the upcoming season, averting an imminent financial crisis for some clubs but setting a significantly lower price than initially anticipated.

The sports streamer DAZN will pay 400 million euros annually for the rights to show the majority of Ligue 1 games, while the Qatari company beIN will spend 100 million euros for one game per week, according to two people familiar with the matter. beIN pays more per game as its package includes the most coveted games. The deal runs for five years, with a potential exit clause still being discussed after two or three years.

By signing the contract less than six weeks before the start of the season, the French clubs have avoided a potentially catastrophic financial crisis. Most teams rely on national TV revenue for the majority of their income. Without a broadcast deal, some would not have had access to bank financing.

However, the sum of 500 million euros is significantly lower than the originally targeted 1 billion euros by the Ligue de Football Professionnel (LFP) and is also less than the 582 million euros achieved in the previous deal.

The new agreement also marks the lowest amount paid for the rights to the top French soccer league in the last 20 years. Unlike in previous years, future income will also be shared with CVC Capital Partners, the private equity firm that paid 1.5 billion euros for a 13 percent stake in a new entity that controls the LFP's commercial revenues.

The efforts of the LFP to sell their rights have been hindered by a prolonged dispute with Canal+, their former long-term broadcast partner, after the league had previously sold their rights to other companies.

The decline in the value of French football media rights is the latest sign of broadcasters' decreasing willingness to spend large sums on live sports. Serie A, the Italian league, has also renewed its TV contracts at reduced prices, while the top price for the new Premier League contract only increased by 4 percent, despite a 35 percent increase in the number of games offered.

French clubs had considered starting their own TV channel instead of accepting the offer from DAZN and beIN, but such a move would not have guaranteed revenue while setup costs would have been prohibitive for some clubs. The push by league officials to include an exit clause in the five-year contract was intended to give clubs the option to continue working on the channel, according to a person familiar with the negotiations, although there is no certainty that this will be agreed upon with the broadcasters.

John Textor, the American owner of Olympique Lyonnais, criticized the outcome and stated in a declaration that "signing a long-term deal with conventional broadcasting models is a look into the past, when we should be looking into the future.

Sure, the translated heading in English is:

"DAZN and beIN declined to comment. The LFP was asked for a comment.