Lhe director of Roland-Garros, Amélie Mauresmo, did not give gifts to her former employer, France Télévisions, for which she was a consultant. After collegial discussions, according to the French Tennis Federation (FFT), the ex-player decided to program the most beautiful poster of the tournament, the crème de la crème, this Tuesday on Amazon Prime Video – of which she was also a consultant in 2021 –, at the expense of France Télévisions, co-holder of the tournament broadcasting rights. The quarter-final between Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, which takes place this Tuesday on the Philippe-Chatrier court, will thus be visible only on Prime Video from 8:45 p.m. The Spaniard preferred to play during the day, his Serbian opponent, at night.
At France Télévisions, the historic broadcaster of the tournament, it is difficult to digest this choice. “We regret the decision of the French Tennis Federation, which does not allow the public service to broadcast the match by offering fluid and easy access to viewers”, complains the public audiovisual group. For its part, Amazon promises to broadcast what could be the last match at Roland Garros for 35-year-old Rafael Nadal for free. “Prime Video is delighted to be able to offer this incredible match between two tennis legends, free of charge, for all tennis fans in France., said in a press release Alex Green, Managing Director of Prime Video Sport Europe. He promises: “Given its special meaning, Prime Video has decided to offer this evening session poster free of charge for all tennis lovers in France. »
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Website and app
On the home page of the Prime Video website, the duel at the top is announced “Tonight. Live and exclusive. From 8:15 p.m. ” The American distribution giant has promised visibility of the match for residents of France both on the Web and on mobile phones without prior registration. The FFT itself specified that it would be “accessible free of charge and without restriction, in France, on the Prime Video, mobile and Web applications”, that “the Prime Video application is available on all IPTV services so that viewers can watch this match on their usual television service” without “any registration or creation of an account”.
First observation: people equipped with an old television without Internet access will not be able to watch the match as they would have done by turning on their set on a France Télévisions channel. An Internet connection on computer, mobile phone or television is absolutely necessary.
If you choose to connect to the Prime Video France website, a stream on the website should be available from 8:15 p.m. if you are a French resident. You will be identified using your IP address, ie the identification number assigned to your device connected to the Internet network. It would therefore seem that it is not necessary to create an Amazon account on the website by clicking on “Try for free”.
However, a doubt remains for mobile phones: if you do not look on the American group’s website and download the Prime Video application on your phone, you are indeed asked to create an Amazon account, i.e. tell you to fill in a name, an e-mail and a password. Will this data be used by the website during future commercial canvassing? The mystery remains intact. Contacted, the press service of Prime Video Sport France had not answered us on Tuesday on this point. If you want to watch the quarter-final between Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic on your smart TV, it seems you just as much need to download the Prime Video app and create an account.
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The rise in TV rights
According to several sources in the sector, Amazon will have spent around fifteen million euros a year to win the rights to Roland-Garros, against around ten million spent by France Télévisions. With Ligue 1, the American giant is betting on the Parisian Grand Slam to increase its subscriber base in France. According to the NPA Conseil barometer, a quarter of French households subscribe to Amazon Prime Video.
