Paramount Skydance once again expanded its sports portfolio on Thursday. The company scored the rights to the Champions League in the U.K. and Germany, TheWrap has learned.
This new deal will last from 2027 to 2031. It’s also reportedly worth more than the nearly £1 billion that the Warner Bros. Discovery-owned TNT currently pays for the rights to the soccer league (that comes out to about $1.3 billion), according to BBC. This expansion isn’t entirely surprising as Paramount+ has the rights to the Champions League in the U.S. The company also worked with UEFA, also known as the Union of European Football Associations, on films that were screened around Champions League for the past two seasons.
Paramount declined to comment on this story.
As for Amazon Prime, the streamer will continue to show a game every Tuesday in the U.K. from 2027 to 2031. In the U.K., the BBC will air UCL (UEFA Champions League) highlights on Wednesdays on a co-exclusive basis, and Sky will have all the rights to the UEL (UEFA Europa League) and UECL (UEFA Conference League).
In Germany, Prime Video will have the first pick UCL package on Wednesdays; ZDF will air UCL highlights on Wednesdays on a co-exclusive basis; and DAZN will have the rights to all of the UEL. France, Italy and Spain are a bit more straightforward. In France, Canal+ will have the rights to UMCCs (UEFA men’s club competitions), and TF1 will have the co-exclusive rights to the UEFA Champions League Final. Prime Video in Italy will have the UCL Wednesday first pick package, while Sky will have the rights to all remaining UCL matches and highlights as well as rights to UEL/UECL. And finally, in Spain, Telefónica will have the rights to all UMCC matches, and RTVE will have co-exclusive rights to the UCL Final.
This is the latest move Paramount has made to expand its sports offerings. In a seven-year deal worth a reported $7.7 billion, the company secured the U.S. rights to the UFC back in August.
The news is also coming during a strange time for both Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery. Thursday is the due date for companies interested in purchasing all or part of Warner Bros. Discovery to submit their bids. Paramount, Netflix and Comcast are all expected to submit bids. Out of the three companies, only Paramount is interested in purchasing all of Warner Bros. Discovery rather than just Warner Bros., the company’s studio division that will be spun out in the coming months.
BBC was the first to report this story.
