Disney+ Acquires Live Soccer Rights in Europe; Is it a Preview of What Viewers Can Expect in the US?

Disney+ has already pulled off one big transformation in the United States in 2024, as it has officially launched its Hulu on Disney+ experience for subscribers of both services. Internationally, Disney+ isn’t done making changes for the year, however; according to Sports Pro Media, Disney+ has acquired the rights to stream UEFA soccer in two European territories, marking the first time the streamer has offered live sports outside of India.

• Disney+ will secure 342 live soccer games each season from the UEFA Europa League and the Conference League.
• Denmark and Sweden are the two countries that will benefit, and will see games remain on Disney+ until 2026-27.
• A new ESPN streaming service launching in the United States in 2025 will also be available to watch through Disney+.

The new deal will see Disney+ stream the UEFA Europa and Conference Leagues, the second and third tiers of competition in the Union of European Football Associations. In the United States, these leagues stream on Paramount+, along with the top-level competition of the UEFA Champions League.

These games are to be available on Disney+ in two countries: Denmark and Sweden. The deal will see 342 games per season across 19 match weeks be played on Disney+ live through the end of the 2026-27 campaign. Disney’s domestic sports streamer ESPN+ does not operate outside of the United States, which is why these games were not sent to that platform.

This is the first time that Disney+ will offer regular live sports events outside of India. Disney+ Hotstar owned the rights to stream Indian Premier League cricket matches until 2022, when it lost them to a local media conglomerate. The company lost millions of Indian streaming subscribers as a result, and eventually decided to sell majority control of its Indian operations to the same conglomerate in February.

“Our rich heritage in sports through ESPN underscores our commitment to creating a high-quality production for the players, the fans, and our Disney+ customers,” Disney Nordic and Baltic’s SVP Hans van Rijn said.

Does the UEFA Deal Offer a Preview of What Disney+ Will Soon Look Like Domestically?

The move to add live sports to Disney+ in Denmark and Sweden could presage what the streamer will look like in the United States before long. Disney has been working to combine its streaming assets in the United States, which started with the introduction of the Disney Bundle and has progressed to the “one-app experience” that is Hulu on Disney+.

Sports content from ESPN very well might be next. In early April, Disney CEO Bob Iger confirmed that the company was planning to launch an ESPN streaming service that will offer all the content available on the ESPN family of linear networks. That service, which is slated to debut in fall 2025) will be available within the Disney+ experience, and indeed there has been no confirmation that customers will be able to get it outside Disney+.

It appears that The Streamable's prognostications about a monster Disney streaming app are growing closer and closer to reality. Iger wants to make Disney+ the “ultimate streaming destination,” and offering so many different entertainment titles on the streamer alongside marquee live sports events is an excellent way to go about it.

Disney recently rolled out a new, unified login experience that will help customers access their various streaming and retail accounts with the company using one set of credentials. The company clearly wants to reduce friction for users who want to access more than one of its services, and the logical ending point of that goal is to offer all of its streaming content on a single platform.