UEFA looking to engage Netflix, Amazon for Champions League rights
UEFA looking to engage Netflix, Amazon for Champions League rights
Thanks to the change, streamers and networks will be able to bid on UEFA Champions League rights in multiple countries.
The UEFA Champions League could have a new broadcast partner in the United States in the coming years. The Champions League plays on Paramount+ in the U.S. at the moment, but the UEFA governing body is making a big change in how it packages and sells broadcast rights to the Champions League tournament around the world.
Key Details:
- Go global: UEFA will begin packaging its rights to sell in multiple markets, instead of just one at a time.
- Stoking interest: The move is hoped to attract bigger streamers like Netflix and Prime Video.
- Not just yet: UEFA’s deal with Paramount to broadcast the Champions League in the U.S. runs through 2030.
As reported by Bloomberg, UEFA has made significant alterations to the way it will sell broadcast rights to the Champions League tournament. Instead of selling rights market by market, UEFA will now sell rights in multiple markets at a time, and could even accept a global bid for Champions League broadcasts.
In essence, if a streamer like Netflix or DAZN wanted to stream the UEFA Champions League tournament all around the world, it could make a bid to do just that under the new arrangements settled on by UEFA.
Streamers like Netflix, DAZN, and Prime Video are exactly the type of platforms UEFA is trying to attract with this change in the way it markets its rights to programmers. The governing body of European football is betting that by selling rights packages that encompass more than one global market, major streaming services will see a higher upside in making bids for those packages.
UEFA will send out tenders in the coming weeks, informing broadcasters what their options will be and inviting bids to start coming in as early as 2027. Viewers in the United States won’t see any changes to UEFA’s broadcasting arrangements for the Champions League that soon, however, UEFA’s deal to stream the Champions League on Paramount+ in the U.S. runs through 2030.
Prime Video already streams select Champions League matches in the United Kingdom, and may be an ideal global partner for UEFA. Netflix would certainly be a good pick as well, but would the streamer feel the Champions League tournament isn’t enough of a one-off viewing event to fit with its philosophy regarding the pursuit of live sports?
Those are questions for the future, but what is clear is that UEFA is ready to put the Champions League on a unified global stage. Will any streaming services step up to help the prestigious tournament reach a worldwide audience on one platform? If you’re a UEFA Champions League follower, let us know which platform you’d like to see the tournament on in the future in our comments section.
Paramount Plus
Paramount+ is a subscription video streaming service that includes on-demand access to 40,000+ TV show episodes from BET, CBS, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, Nick Jr., and more. Get free access with a Walmart+ subscription.
Paramount+ includes “1883,” “Tulsa King,” “Star Trek: Discovery,” “SpongeBob SquarePants,” and “PAW Patrol.” Subscribers can watch the NFL, college football, The Masters, college basketball, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, Serie A, and NWSL. The service also offers the option to watch your live CBS affiliate. The upgraded ad-free package includes premium movies and shows from Showtime.