Times: Netflix wants to bid for Champions League broadcast rights; UEFA hopes to earn 5 billion euros a year

Hupu reported on October 9th that the well-known streaming platform Netflix hopes to bid for the broadcast rights of the Champions League, and UEFA hopes to receive 5 billion euros in annual revenue in the future.

Netflix is ​​expected to bid for the global broadcast rights to one match in each round of the Champions League. The move is part of the reform of UEFA's broadcast agreement, and the European football governing body believes that the reformed broadcast agreement can bring in at least 5 billion euros in revenue per year.

UEFA and the European Football Clubs (EFC) will change the way television broadcast rights are sold for the Champions League and other European club competitions starting from the 2027-28 season.

The biggest change in this reform is aimed at attracting global streaming media platforms. It is reported that relevant parties have contacted Netflix to understand its interest. Amazon currently has the rights to broadcast one game in each round of the Champions League in the UK, Germany and Italy; Apple holds the global broadcast rights for MLS; Disney is considering bidding for the rights to live sports events.

Netflix has not yet entered the sports rights market on a large scale, but it has broadcast live NFL games during the Christmas period and also broadcast the Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul boxing match. This event performed extremely well for the platform, with a peak streaming viewership of 65 million. In addition, Netflix has purchased the U.S. broadcast rights for the 2027 and 2031 FIFA Women’s World Cup. The sales of broadcast rights for UEFA's Champions League, Europa League and other UEFA competitions will allow broadcasters to bid for rights in multiple markets at the same time. For example, Discovery/TNT Sports or Sky Sports can bid for the remaining broadcast rights of the five major markets of the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Spain and France.

Relevent, an American sports marketing agency, is responsible for the sales of broadcast rights for these events on behalf of UEFA.

Sources revealed that the annual valuation of UEFA club match broadcast revenue is expected to increase by at least 10%, from the current 4.4 billion euros to 5 billion euros, and may even be higher. The Premier League earns £3.6 billion a year through domestic and international television deals.

The increase in media copyright revenue means that clubs participating in European competitions will receive more revenue. The new Champions League competition format launched last season has increased competition revenue by 25% compared with the previous cycle.

The outside world has always been worried that the increase in Champions League revenue may further widen the financial gap between clubs participating in elite competitions and clubs not participating in competitions. However, UEFA has previously emphasized that the funds allocated to teams participating in the Europa League and UEFA Europa League, as well as the solidarity fund paid to clubs not participating in European competitions, will continue to increase at a higher level.

Relevent is also expected to consider accepting bids for broadcast rights with a term of 3 to 6 years. UEFA usually sells broadcast rights every three years, and Relevent has reached a 6-year (2024-30) US regional broadcast rights agreement with CBS worth US$1.5 billion.

UEFA President Alexander Ceferin said at the European Football Club Organization’s annual meeting in Rome that the new Champions League format has proven to be a great success.

He said: "We are working together to create a unique event system with ambition to provide the most engaging, innovative and accessible football content to expand our core revenue sources."

Ceferin added that UEFA will "strive to attract new audiences in the ever-changing media and streaming rights landscape, make full use of digital platforms, and make football more closely connected to the public." He finally emphasized: "This is the key to maintaining our leading position in European football."

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