Paramount wins UEFA rights, including Champions League, in $1.5 billion deal

Another day, another big TV sports rights deal.

One of the biggest football packages on the market – UEFA’s US rights, including the UEFA Champions League – has found a new media partner, and it’s the same as before.

Paramount, which owns CBS and Paramount+, won the UEFA tender, renewing its contract with the football federation until 2030. A source familiar with the negotiations said the six-year deal is valued at $1.5 billion, more than 2.5 times this value. previous transaction amount.

And that number only includes English language rights, while US Spanish language rights are still for sale.

A source familiar with the talks said that with the Spanish-language broadcast market still so formed (Telemundo is building its hub in Peacock, and TelevisaUnivision has recently launched a ViX+ product), the league wants to see what the market looks like before committing. . A long term deal.

The six-year deal is key because Paramount still has two years left on its current rights deal, giving it an eight-year run to try to spark American fans’ interest in the European football federation. This is the longest deal UEFA has ever made in the US.

Specific production details will be announced at a later date, but UEFA matches are expected to appear on Paramount’s streaming platforms and may also appear on their linear networks.

UEFA and its business partner Relevent Sports Group launched the process last month with a request for proposals. All major media companies were expected to participate, with some, like NBCUniversal, seeking the English and Spanish rights, while others, like TelevisaUnivision or Paramount, focused on one or the other.

A source familiar with the negotiations said Amazon and Paramount were the last two competitors.

“UEFA has been a key driver of Paramount+ since our launch and we are delighted to extend this successful partnership to showcase even more world-class football throughout the 2029-30 season, building on the incredible momentum we have built over the past few years. two years. CBS Sports President Sean McManus in a statement. “UEFA is an excellent example of our differentiated strategy, introducing us to market properties to drive and strengthen our linear and traditional businesses.” This cross-platform approach allows us to harness the power of Paramount Global to reach the widest possible audience and grow and expand UEFA’s reach in the United States. We look forward to continuing to provide football fans with the best coverage from CBS Sports our viewers have come to expect.”

Another major sports rights deal was announced earlier this week, with Paramount, NBC and Fox splitting their rights to the Big Ten College athletic conference.