Dog that didn't bark': Uefa's Champions League rights sale delivered a key lesson

"Champagne corks were flying last Thursday after Uefa secured average annual increases of more than 20% in the value of its Champions League rights across its five biggest European markets, largely by luring the American entertainment company Paramount into the auction for the first time. Paramount secured the UK rights by outbidding Uefa's incumbent partner, TNT Sports, triumphed in Germany and forced Sky Italia to up its offer in Italy."

"Uefa had hoped to sell one package of first-pick games to a global streaming company, yet that did not materialise. Instead, Amazon Prime retained its first-pick packages in the UK, Germany and Italy via separate auctions and Canal+ and Movistar got all the matches in France and Spain respectively. The global deal is the dog that didn't bark, Francois Godard, a senior media analyst for Enders Analysis, says. The big tech firms clearly weren't that interested. Sport is not going global."

"The combined value of the UK deal (which includes Sky Sports' return to European football by buying every Europa League and Conference League game) increased from 1.2bn to 2.2bn, albeit over four years rather than three. Germany's rights rose by 40% a year, Italy's by 30% (both fuelled by Paramount's emergence) and Spain's by 14%, with only France of Europe's big five TV markets failing to increase."

UEFA achieved average annual increases exceeding 20% in Champions League rights value across its five largest European markets for the 2027–31 cycle, largely due to Paramount entering the auctions. Paramount won UK rights, outbidding TNT Sports, claimed Germany and pressured Sky Italia to raise its Italian offer; Paramount will show most UK matches from 2027–31. Amazon Prime retained first-pick packages in the UK, Germany and Italy via separate auctions, while Canal+ and Movistar secured France and Spain. The hoped-for single global first-pick package did not materialise as big tech interest proved limited. UK rights rose from £1.2bn to £2.2bn; Germany, Italy and Spain also saw sizable increases.

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