During an interview with Chinese media on April 12, Jean-Pierre Denis, the President of Ligue de Football Professionnel (LFP) said that in order to bring a better experience to Chinese fans, starting from the 2020-2021 season, one Ligue 1 match in each round will kick off during the evening prime time, Beijing time.

Compared with matches played late at night or before dawn, this arrangement will definitely bring a better viewing experience to Chinese fans.

In the past two seasons, Ligue 1 has attempted to shift some kickoff times of some matches to an earlier time. According to the data from the LFP, the  game between Paris Saint-Germain and Nice attracted a record-breaking 2 million Chinese viewers.

Denis considers China as “the most significant market” for the overseas development of Ligue 1. He believes that compared with the Premier League and LaLiga, the “latecomers” Ligue 1 needs to enhance its exposure on Chinese social media platforms as well as improving its media rights value, maintain  better cooperation with broadcasters, and present their stories in new ways.  

Reference: Xinhua 

Proofread by Raymond Fitzpatrick