Uefa's record-breaking Champions League rights sale has sent shockwaves through the sports industry, with a key takeaway being that demand for global or pan-European deals may have been overstated. The European football governing body secured average annual increases of over 20% in its five biggest markets, largely thanks to American entertainment company Paramount's entry into the market.
The auction saw Amazon Prime retaining its first-pick packages in the UK, Germany, and Italy, while Canal+ secured the rights on similar terms in France. In Spain, Movistar emerged victorious, but it was a mixed bag overall for Uefa, with only one of its biggest European markets failing to see an increase in revenue.
So what went wrong? According to François Godard, a senior media analyst at Enders Analysis, "The global deal is the dog that didn't bark." He believes that big tech firms like Netflix and Apple TV were not as interested in selling rights globally, opting instead for a market-by-market approach. This strategy proved more lucrative for Uefa.
Godard points to several factors contributing to this outcome. Firstly, the global tender launched by Uefa attracted significant interest from major streaming companies, but they ultimately decided that selling rights to individual markets was more valuable. Secondly, the traditional model of selling rights has proven resilient in recent years, with Fifa opting for a market-by-market approach and Apple TV terminating its 10-year global deal with Major League Soccer early.
The Uefa auction also serves as a warning sign for other sports organisations looking to sell global or pan-European deals. Godard notes that the product that failed to materialise – a single package of first-pick games sold to a global streaming company – would have had significant constraints, limiting viewership and fan engagement.
In the UK, Sky Sports emerged as a major winner from the auction, picking up 342 European matches relatively cheaply after its key domestic rival TNT was significantly weakened. The Europa League's increasing popularity among big English clubs has also benefited Sky, with Manchester United and Tottenham contesting last year's final.
However, Paramount's emergence has also had an impact on Uefa's strategy. Godard believes that the company will be forced to make the Champions League available on the Sky platform, leading to further bundling of services. This could ultimately benefit Sky, as other channels would need to be on their platform to avoid losing viewers to piracy.
As the sports industry continues to evolve, one thing is clear: demand for global or pan-European deals may have been exaggerated. Instead, a market-by-market approach has proven more lucrative for Uefa and other rights holders.
The auction saw Amazon Prime retaining its first-pick packages in the UK, Germany, and Italy, while Canal+ secured the rights on similar terms in France. In Spain, Movistar emerged victorious, but it was a mixed bag overall for Uefa, with only one of its biggest European markets failing to see an increase in revenue.
So what went wrong? According to François Godard, a senior media analyst at Enders Analysis, "The global deal is the dog that didn't bark." He believes that big tech firms like Netflix and Apple TV were not as interested in selling rights globally, opting instead for a market-by-market approach. This strategy proved more lucrative for Uefa.
Godard points to several factors contributing to this outcome. Firstly, the global tender launched by Uefa attracted significant interest from major streaming companies, but they ultimately decided that selling rights to individual markets was more valuable. Secondly, the traditional model of selling rights has proven resilient in recent years, with Fifa opting for a market-by-market approach and Apple TV terminating its 10-year global deal with Major League Soccer early.
The Uefa auction also serves as a warning sign for other sports organisations looking to sell global or pan-European deals. Godard notes that the product that failed to materialise – a single package of first-pick games sold to a global streaming company – would have had significant constraints, limiting viewership and fan engagement.
In the UK, Sky Sports emerged as a major winner from the auction, picking up 342 European matches relatively cheaply after its key domestic rival TNT was significantly weakened. The Europa League's increasing popularity among big English clubs has also benefited Sky, with Manchester United and Tottenham contesting last year's final.
However, Paramount's emergence has also had an impact on Uefa's strategy. Godard believes that the company will be forced to make the Champions League available on the Sky platform, leading to further bundling of services. This could ultimately benefit Sky, as other channels would need to be on their platform to avoid losing viewers to piracy.
As the sports industry continues to evolve, one thing is clear: demand for global or pan-European deals may have been exaggerated. Instead, a market-by-market approach has proven more lucrative for Uefa and other rights holders.
they were able to secure 20% annual increases in their biggest markets which is pretty amazing. and it's cool that amazon prime retained its packages in the uk, germany, and italy - those guys are definitely paying attention to european football. i also think paramount's entry into the market has forced uefa to rethink their strategy and consider bundling services with sky sports, which could lead to some awesome content for fans 
Uefa's big mistake was thinking global = gold 
. Market by market works better 
! I mean, think about it - big tech firms like Netflix and Apple TV opting for a market-by-market approach instead of trying to snag the whole shebang? That makes total sense 
. And let's be real, Fifa's experience with selling rights on a per-market basis is no secret 
. It's all about maximizing viewership and fan engagement - can't go wrong with that! 
.
, while Apple TV did the same with MLS. So maybe we shouldn't be so surprised that UEFA went the same way.
. Sky Sports is definitely raking it in from the Europa League, though... and now we might see UEFA's Champions League getting bundled with Sky services... that's an interesting twist 
.
UEFA's Champions League rights sale was a total disaster 
. The whole global deal thing was just a hype, like everyone thought they were gonna make some crazy cash but really it was just Amazon Prime and Canal+ getting the best deals 
.
its like ufa made a huge bet on global deals but americans came in and smashed it 