Today is the day of the consultation for the Champions League broadcasting rights for the 2027-2031 period, following the tender launched by UEFA on October 13th. L’Equipe takes stock this morning of what is expected, with new broadcasters via streaming platforms. This allows the European governing body (and the clubs along with it) to hope for another significant increase in revenue.
“UEFA’s objective: to exceed €5 billion in annual revenue.”
“D-Day for the consultation for the Champions League rights. Launched on October 13th by UEFA for the 2027-2031 cycle, it could deliver its verdict this Tuesday, the deadline for broadcasters to submit their financial offers.”
UEFA’s objective: to exceed €5 billion in annual revenue. “Today, across the three competitions, we generate €4.4 billion in revenue per season (€3.6 billion of which comes from the Champions League alone),” marketing director Guy-Laurent Epstein told L’Équipe on October 21. “During the last bidding process, growth was 25%, but we had launched the new format. This time, we are aiming for another 20 to 25% increase.”
“Canal+ is very likely to lose its exclusivity in France.”
Behind the “we” lies UC3, the joint venture between UEFA (51%) and the powerful EFC (49%), the European Club Association chaired by Nasser al-Khelaïfi. EFC is notably in charge of marketing these rights, along with the American marketing agency Relevent, chosen for its connections with streaming giants.
Unsurprisingly, UEFA has big ambitions with a competition that, despite strong criticism before the start of the new format, seems to appeal to everyone. There’s more suspense and some truly exciting matches. Not to mention, of course: more games. This, in turn, generates more revenue. It’s easy to understand, then, why clubs and players are only mildly resisting an ever-expanding schedule.
There will have to be a limit, though. While we wait to see where that limit will be drawn, the broadcasting of the Champions League could change from 2027 onwards.
