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List of UEFA Champions League broadcasters

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This is a list of television broadcasters which provide coverage of the UEFA Champions League, European football's top level continental competition, as well as the UEFA Super Cup. Starting from the 2021–22 season, during the group stage, two matches will kick off at 18:45 CET (instead of 18:55 previously) and the rest of the matches, including knockout stage and the final will continue to kick-off at 21:00 CET.[1]

UEFA sells the broadcast rights in a three-season basis and various packages are available for bidders, with UEFA weighing balance between free and pay television under the UEFA and European Union (EU) agreement. While balancing between free and pay television, if the rights do not sell within "sales windows", the rights may be sold on an individual basis to pay-per-view television broadcasters.[2]

UEFA only markets the commercial rights to the last qualifying phase, group stages and final phase of the Champions League. The national associations, their affiliated organisations or clubs market the commercial rights to the first three qualifying phases.

The 2009 final attracted an audience of 109 million people around the world, a record number for the competition, and replaced the Super Bowl as the most-watched annual sports event.[3]

Background[edit]

Joint selling of television rights in sports was a common practice before the Commission even started to investigate that practice for the first time.

The European Commission raised objections against the joint sale of media rights in 1998 and on 1 February 1999, initied its investigation into the joint selling by UEFA of the TV rights because UEFA notified the arrangement seeking for negative clearance, or respectively an exemption decision Art. 101 TFEU of the central marketing of the commercial rights to the UEFA Champions League.[4]

The Commission issued a statement of objections on 18 July 2001, which stated that the notified joint selling arrangement relating to the sale of the television broadcasting rights infringed Article 81 of the Treaty and Article 53 of the EEA Agreement and should be improved to ensure that european sports fans can benefit from a wider coverage.

Main concerns raised by the European Commission do not relate to the central marketing of rights as such by UEFA, but rather to the policy of joint selling of free-TV and pay-TV rights combined with exclusivity for a period lasting several years had highly anticompetitive effect by foreclosing television markets and ultimately limiting television coverage of those events for consumers, an important effect on the structure of the TV broadcasting markets since football is in most countries the driving force not only for the development of pay-TV services but it is also an essential programme item for free TV broadcasters.[5]

UEFA sold all the TV rights to the whole tournament in one exclusive package to one broadcaster per country. Because the winner got it all, there was a fierce competition for the TV rights whose increasing value can only be afforded by large broadcasters. This may increase media concentration and hamper competition between broadcasters. If one broadcaster holds all relevant football TV rights in a country, it will become extremely difficult for competing broadcasters to establish themselves in that market. If different packages of rights were sold, several broadcasters would be able to compete for the rights, including smaller, regional or thematic channels, among others.

UEFA's sublicensing policy was also insufficient, because was rather exclusive and allowed only one other broadcaster to show the UEFA Champions League matches that the main broadcaster itself was not showing. Thus a maximum of two broadcasters per country could televise the UEFA Champions League to the exclusion of all other broadcasters in that country, who could not even show highlights.

Other of the drawbacks was that some of the rights, such as live footage, internet and UMTS, were unexploited. The clubs and possibly other players such as regional television channels or small companies, internet content providers and UMTS operators would be happy to exploit these rights.[6]

The Commission, therefore, called on UEFA to submit constructive proposals in order to guarantee open access to television coverage of football.

UEFA replied to the statement of objections on 16 November 2001. On 8 January 2002 UEFA submitted an outline of a new joint selling arrangement. Subsequently, on 12 March 2002, UEFA presented a rights segmentation table for the exploitation of not only the TV broadcasting rights but, also, all the other media rights of the UEFA Champions League.[4]

On 13 May 2002, UEFA send to the Commission a proposed settlement and may be summarised as follows:[7]

  • UEFA will continue to sell the rights to live broadcast of the main matches on Tuesday and Wednesdays. The main rights will be split into two separate rights packages (the Gold and Silver packages) giving the winning broadcasters the right to pick the two best matches.
  • If UEFA has not managed to sell some of the other matches so-called Bronze package within a certain cut-off date to another broadcaster, the clubs in question will have an opportunity to sell their match individually.
  • All media rights will be offered to the market, including those rights that were unexploited so far such as Internet and UMTS rights.
  • After Thursday midnight, the individual football clubs will have the right to exploit deferred TV rights to provide their fans with better services.
  • The settlement means that UEFA has split all the media rights into 14 smaller packages some of which are exploited only by UEFA and some of which are co-exploited by both UEFA and the individual clubs.
  • UEFA will award the media rights contracts for a period not exceeding three years using a public tender procedure giving all broadcasters an opportunity to bid for the rights.

After many discussions and negotiations between the parties, new selling arrangements were put forward by UEFA to the Commission, which were acceptable, and the matter was settled amicably (so-called "soft law") in December 2003. The new arrangements came into force as from the 2003/2004 football season. There was an improvement on the preliminary compromise reached with the Commission on August 2002. It particularly agreed that football clubs would not be prevented from selling live rights to free-TV broadcasters where there is no reasonable offer from any pay-TV broadcaster.

Effects of the law[edit]

The effects have been positive: The number of licensees has grown from 14 to 22 directly after the decision in 2003 and to over 30 at present.

In the majority of the EU countries, there is more than one operator holding a direct license and broadcasting the UEFA Champions League live on television and in most cases one of the operators broadcasts on free to air. Since 2003, the number of games of the UEFA Champions League that are broadcast has increased to full coverage of all matches, unlike before the decision, when only a small number of games were broadcast. The Internet, was promoted by the Commission and has become a new distribution channel on the live broadcasting market and thereby created a new way of market entry, to prevent foreclosure on the upstream and downstream market and offer consumers a variety of product choice on the downstream market. This has radically changed the market in recent years, when it has been announced that several internet-streaming operators, not broadcasting through terrestrial, cable or satellite at all, have acquired a large amount of broadcasting rights of UEFA Champions League on an exclusive basis in various countries.[8]

On 7 March 2022, Match TV was terminated broadcast in Russia from second-leg round of 16 - 2021–22 UEFA Champions League due to Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Broadcasters[edit]

2024–2027[edit]

Territory Rights holder Ref
Albania Tring [9]
Andorra Movistar Plus+ [10]
Australia Stan Sport [11]
Austria
[12][13][14]
Belgium
[15][16][17][18]
Bosnia and Herzegovina Arena Sport [19]
Brazil
[20][21]
Bulgaria
[22][23]
Canada DAZN [24][25]
China iQIYI [26]
Croatia
[19]
Cyprus CYTA [26][27]
Czech Republic Nova Sport [26][28]
Denmark Viaplay [29][30]
Finland MTV [31]
France
[32][33]
Germany
[34][35]
Greece Cosmote Sport [36]
Hungary
[37][38]
Iceland
[29][30]
Indian subcontinent Sony Sports Network [39]
Ireland
[40][41][42][43]
Italy
[44][45]
Japan WOWOW [46]
Kosovo
[19]
Liechtenstein
[47][48]
Luxembourg Proximus [17]
Malta PBS [26]
Montenegro Arena Sport [19]
Netherlands Ziggo Sport [49]
North Macedonia Arena Sport [19]
Norway TV 2 [50]
Poland Canal+ [51]
Portugal
[52]
Romania
[53]
San Marino
[44]
Serbia Arena Sport [19]
Slovakia Nova Sport [28]
Slovenia
[26][54][55]
Spain Movistar Plus+ [10]
Sub-Saharan Africa
[56][57]
Sweden Viaplay [29][30]
Switzerland
[47][48]
Turkey TRT [58]
United Kingdom
[42][59][60]
United States
[61][62]
Vietnam Vietcontent [63]

Notes

  1. ^ Only final
  2. ^ Only highlights & Finals
  3. ^ Only highlights

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Format change for 2020/21 UEFA Nations League" (Press release). UEFA. 24 September 2019.
  2. ^ "TV rights agreement" (PDF). UEFA. Archived (PDF) from the original on 8 April 2003. Retrieved 27 November 2011.
  3. ^ "Champions League final tops Super Bowl for TV market". BBC Sport. 31 January 2010. Retrieved 27 November 2011.
  4. ^ a b "Commission Decision of 23 July 2003 relating to a proceeding pursuant to Article 81 of the EC Treaty and Article 53 of the EEA Agreement (COMP/C.2-37.398 — Joint selling of the commercial rights of the UEFA Champions League)". 24 July 2003.
  5. ^ "Collective sale of sports television rights in the European Union: competition law aspects". 13 February 2013.
  6. ^ "Collective sale of sports television rights in the European Union: competition law aspects" (PDF). 26 August 2003.
  7. ^ "Commission welcomes UEFA's new policy for selling the media rights to the Champions League". 3 June 2002.
  8. ^ "EU competition law perspective and a comparative analysis of the impact of Regulation 1/2003" (PDF). 3 September 2018.
  9. ^ ""Champions" në Tring deri në 2027, kompetiocioni më prestigjioz në plaftormën më të dashur të shqiptarëve". Vizion Plus. 9 February 2024. Retrieved 9 February 2024.
  10. ^ a b "Movistar Plus+ retains Uefa Champions League rights for Spain". Sports Promedia. 2 August 2023. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
  11. ^ Brunsdon, Simon (10 May 2023). "Aussie football fans rejoice as Stan Sport announces UEFA broadcast extension". nine.com.au. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
  12. ^ "CANAL+ SICHERT SICH RECHTE DER UEFA-KLUBWETTBEWERBE IN ÖSTERREICH". Canal Plus. 8 December 2022. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
  13. ^ "In Österreich bleibt Sky die Heimat der Königsklasse: Sky Österreich sichert sich umfassendes Rechtepaket für die UEFA Champions League bis 2026/27". Sky Sport. 9 December 2022. Retrieved 9 December 2022.
  14. ^ "Canal+ scores UEFA rights". 8 December 2022. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
  15. ^ "Excellente nouvelle pour les fans de foot: les grands frissons de la UEFA Champions League sur RTL jusqu'en 2027". RTL. 28 November 2023. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
  16. ^ "VTM haalt rechten binnen voor topwedstrijden UEFA Champions League". DPG Media. 28 November 2023. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
  17. ^ a b "Proximus remains the reference in Belgium for fans of the UEFA Champions League until 2027". Proximus. 1 December 2023. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
  18. ^ "Telenet voegt Nederlandstalige UEFA Champions League-rechten toe aan Play Sports". Telenet. 1 December 2023. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
  19. ^ a b c d e f "UEFA CLUB COMPETITION MEDIA RIGHTS SALES IN THE BALKANS DELIVER STRONG RESULTS". Team Marketing. 6 October 2022. Retrieved 6 October 2022.
  20. ^ "SBT renova direitos de transmissão da UEFA Champions League até 2027". SBT. 9 January 2024. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
  21. ^ "TNT Sports e SBT seguem com a transmissão da Champions League no Brasil até 2027". 29 November 2023. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
  22. ^ "bTV Media Group придоби правата за излъчване на УЕФА Шампионска лига, Лига Европа и Лига на конференциите през следващите 3 години". bTV. 29 May 2024. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
  23. ^ "UEFA Шампионска лига остава в ефира на MAX Sport през следващите 3 сезона". A1. 27 May 2024. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
  24. ^ "DAZN Canada to continue exclusively broadcasting UEFA club competitions for the next three seasons". DAZN. 16 January 2024. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
  25. ^ "ANNUAL REVIEW 2023" (PDF). DAZN. December 2023. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
  26. ^ a b c d e "2024-27 media rights sales: UEFA Champions League" (PDF). UEFA. 8 November 2023. Retrieved 8 November 2023.
  27. ^ Perry, Joseph (1 December 2022). "EXCLUSIVE: Cyta retains Champions League rights, CyBC takes Europa League package". SportBusiness. Retrieved 2 December 2022.
  28. ^ a b "Liga mistrů zůstává na Nova Sport. K vidění bude více zápasů". Nova Sport. 30 May 2024. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
  29. ^ a b c "Viaplay Group to show UEFA club competitions in five Nordic countries". Viaplay. 29 May 2024. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
  30. ^ a b c McCaskill, Steve (30 May 2024). "Viaplay secures Uefa Champions League broadcast rights in Denmark, Sweden and Iceland until 2027". SportsPro Media. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
  31. ^ "Uudistuva UEFA Mestarien liiga jatkuu MTV:llä vuoteen 2027 asti". MTV. 22 May 2024. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
  32. ^ "Le groupe Canal+ remporte, pour la première fois, 100 % des compétitions européennes soit l'intégralité de l'UEFA Champions League, l'intégralité de l'UEFA Europa League et l'intégralité de l'UEFA Europe Conference League de 2024/2025 à 2026/2027". Vivendi. 22 June 2022. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
  33. ^ "M6 décroche la finale de la Ligue des champions en clair". SportsPro Media. 29 June 2022. Retrieved 16 July 2022.
  34. ^ "CHAMPIONS LEAGUE AUF DAZN BIS 2027! NOCH MEHR SPIELE EXKLUSIV BEIM STREAMINGDIENST". DAZN. 16 December 2022. Retrieved 16 December 2022.
  35. ^ Mahadik, Gauresh (8 December 2022). "Amazon extends broadcast deal with UEFA Champions League in Germany". Sports Mint. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
  36. ^ "UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League and UEFA Conference League on COSMOTE TV until 2027". Cosmote. 9 May 2024. Retrieved 11 May 2024.
  37. ^ "Az RTL Magyarország nyerte a Bajnokok Ligája közvetítési jogait a 2024/25-ös szezontól". RTL Magyarország. 3 June 2023. Retrieved 3 June 2023.
  38. ^ "Minden eddiginél több UEFA BL-mérkőzést közvetít a Sport TV a következő években". Sport TV. 1 June 2023. Retrieved 1 June 2023.
  39. ^ "Sony Pictures Networks India signs exclusive media rights renewal with UEFA for additional three years". 4 March 2024. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
  40. ^ "Premier Sports scoops up UEFA competition rights for Ireland". 12 September 2023. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
  41. ^ "Virgin Media Completes Hat Trick of Champions League Rights for Ireland". 13 February 2024. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
  42. ^ a b "BT remains home of UEFA Champions League, Europa League and Europa Conference League until 2027". BT. 1 July 2022. Retrieved 2 July 2022.
  43. ^ "Amazon launching new online store in Ireland, Amazon.ie, in 2025". Amazon. 9 May 2024. Retrieved 12 May 2024.
  44. ^ a b "Champions, Europa e Conference League su Sky anche nel triennio 2024-2027". Sky Sport. 9 May 2023. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
  45. ^ "Ufficiale, la Champions su Amazon fino al 2027". Calcio Finanza (in Italian). 20 February 2023. Retrieved 20 February 2023.
  46. ^ "Wowow to Remain Exclusive Home of Champions League in Japan to 2027". Sports Business. 1 May 2024. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
  47. ^ a b "Live-Spiele der Champions League ab der Saison 2024/25 bei der SRG". SRG. 10 February 2023. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
  48. ^ a b "blue Sport bleibt königlich". Blue Sport. 6 December 2022. Retrieved 6 December 2022.
  49. ^ "Ziggo Sport verwerft exclusieve rechten UEFA clubvoetbal". Ziggo Sport. 10 November 2022. Retrieved 10 November 2022.
  50. ^ "Avslørte på direkten: TV 2 sikret seg Champions League-rettighetene". TV2. 9 April 2024. Retrieved 9 April 2024.
  51. ^ "CANAL+ POZYSKAŁ WYŁĄCZNE PRAWA DO TRANSMISJI LIGI MISTRZÓW UEFA, LIGI MŁODZIEŻOWEJ UEFA ORAZ SUPERPUCHARU UEFA W POLSCE". Canal Plus. 22 March 2024. Retrieved 22 March 2024.
  52. ^ "Sport TV e DAZN vão dividir direitos televisivos das competições europeias". ZeroZero. 27 October 2023. Retrieved 27 October 2023.
  53. ^ Cite error: The named reference GOLAZO.ro was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  54. ^ "UEFA Liga prvakov ostaja na Kanalu A". 24ur. 14 June 2023. Retrieved 8 November 2023.
  55. ^ "UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League and UEFA Europa Conference League remain on Sport Klub channel in Slovenia". United Media. 10 May 2023. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
  56. ^ "COMMUNIQUE DE PRESSE Paris, le 20 février 2024" (PDF). Canal Plus. 21 February 2024. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
  57. ^ "Communiqué de presse: New World TV diffuseur des compétitions interclubs UEFA". New World TV. 21 February 2024. Retrieved 21 February 2024.
  58. ^ "Şampiyonlar Ligi, Avrupa Ligi ve Konferans Ligi TRT'de". TRT. 25 January 2024. Retrieved 25 January 2024.
  59. ^ "Champions League: BBC to show highlights from 2024-25 season". BBC Sport. 1 July 2022. Retrieved 2 July 2022.
  60. ^ "Amazon secures UK£1.5bn deal for Champions League rights in the UK". SportsPro. 30 June 2022. Retrieved 2 July 2022.
  61. ^ "UEFA and CBS Sports/Paramount reach six-year deal to air Champions League, Europa and Conference League". CBS. 19 August 2022. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
  62. ^ "TelevisaUnivision Announces Expansive Sports Offering in 2024". TelevisaUnivision. 16 May 2023. Retrieved 16 May 2023.
  63. ^ "Exclusive Vietcontent agency nets Uefa club competitions in Vietnam". Sports Business. 18 March 2024. Retrieved 24 March 2024.
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