Disney+ Secures Live Men's Champions League Rights for First Time

Disney+ has secured live rights for men's Champions League matches for the first time, with Uefa attracting a new buyer in the auction of broadcast packages for its flagship club competition. Disney has been named as the preferred bidder in several European countries, one of which is understood to be Sweden, in the auction of 19 TV markets for the 2027-31 cycle that concluded this week. Disney's success is significant for the industry because it will be the first time the US company has bought Champions League rights and demonstrates the widening appeal of the competition to broadcasters and streamers. An announcement of the winning bidders will be made by UC3, the joint venture owned by Uefa and the lobby group European Football Clubs that runs the commercial arm of elite European club competitions. Uefa and UC3 last year secured increases of between 20% and 30% on their existing deals in the auction for the biggest five European markets of the UK, Spain, Germany, Italy and France, and are understood to have achieved further double-digit growth in the current round of sales. The recent auction was for Champions League rights in Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Central America, Czechia, Denmark, Finland, Mexico, Norway, Poland, Portugal, the Republic of Ireland, Romania, Slovakia, South America, Sweden, and Switzerland. Disney's winning bids comes after another streaming company, Paramount+, bought Champions League rights in the UK and Germany last November. This outcome will be welcomed by the clubs and domestic leagues because it demonstrates the increasing demand for football rights and will not divert resources from major rights holders such as Sky Sports, TNT Sports or Dazn. Uefa is projecting that the total value of its TV rights will exceed €5bn (£4.3bn) a year when the tenders are concluded, and as the Guardian reported this month it also expects to bring in more than €1bn annually through commercial deals. UC3 appointed the American agency Relevent Football Partners last year to handle TV and sponsorship tenders, ending Uefa's 30-year association with the Swiss agency Team, and at this stage that appears to have been a success. Disney's interest in football rights has been building for some time, and is likely to grow. The company holds exclusive pan-European rights for the women's Champions League until 2030 and Europa League and Conference League rights in Sweden and Denmark. Uefa, UC3 and Relevent declined to comment.