Netflix have been tipped to bid for Champions League broadcasting rights, with European football’s governing body UEFA changing the way that TV deals are sold.
Streaming platforms are increasingly entering the world of live sports.
Amazon Prime Video has been showing one live Champions League match in the UK per round of fixtures in recent seasons, while Apple TV+ holds exclusive global rights to Major League Soccer.
Meanwhile, this week marked the launch of live Women’s Champions League coverage on Disney+ across Europe, with the platform also streaming a live La Liga match each weekend.
Netflix doesn’t currently show any live football, but it has secured the U.S. broadcast rights for the Women’s World Cup in both 2027 and 2031. NFL was notably shown on Netflix last Christmas, with live boxing part of its offering when Jake Paul fought Mike Tyson, as well as a huge $5 billion deal with WWE until 2035, crossing into the sports entertainment world.
The Times writes that UEFA is switching things up with its broadcast bidding process so that there is more appeal to the streaming platforms, with Netflix specifically sounded out to gauge interest.
It would be for one game per week from Tuesday’s options and it would be the first pick of those available. However, there would be a cap stopping the successful broadcaster from choosing a match involving the same club—be it Real Madrid, Barcelona, Liverpool, or whoever—all the time.
This broadcast rights cycle would begin from the 2027–28 season and UEFA hope to grow revenue from $4.4 billion for the current period to $5 billion, or more. Any such growth would benefit the clubs involved, making qualification for the world’s leading club competition even more lucrative.
For the right deal, a six-year package could be considered, rather than the traditional three, matching the longer deal in place with CBS for U.S. rights that started in 2024 and runs to 2030.
READ THE LATEST CHAMPIONS LEAGUE NEWS, PREVIEWS AND PLAYER RATINGS
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Netflix Ready to Bid for Champions League Rights—Report.
