Amazon has broken BT’s control over live Champions League football in the UK and highlights will be broadcast on the BBC for the first time in a new deal from 2024.
BT has retained the lion’s share of Champions League rights, securing the rights of the UK for 187 of the 204 games in the new format expanded from 2024, while reducing the price of the next three-year deal by a 23% to £ 917 million.
BT, which has broadcast Champion’s League football exclusively in the UK since 2015 after beating then-joint holders Sky and ITV with a £ 900m bid, paid £ 1.2bn at the last auction of the 2019.
Amazon, which in 2018 broke control of the BT and Sky duopoly over Premier League football rights, has struck again, securing the first 17 Champions League matches on Tuesday night for the American retailer and the UK’s biggest sports rights deal.
“The incorporation of Uefa Champions League football is a truly momentous moment for Prime Video in the UK,” said Alex Green, CEO of Prime Video Sport Europe, which has reached similar agreements in Italy and Germany.
Starting in 2024, the BBC will become home to the highlights with a new Wednesday night Match of the Day. Champions League coverage has not been on terrestrial television since 2014.
“Our reach and our ability to bring people together is unmatched and we could not be happier if Uefa recognized the value of our ability to bring the Uefa Champions League to the widest possible audience across the UK. “said Barbara Slater, head of the BBC. sports director.
Under the agreement, BT will continue to have the exclusive UK broadcasting rights for the Europa League and the Europa Conference League, ie a total of 533 matches including those in the Champions League, an increase of 27% reflecting the expansion of Uefa club competitions from 2024.
“BT Sport remains the venue for Uefa club competitions until 2027,” said Marc Allera, executive director of BT’s consumer division. “From 2024 we will be able to show more live and exclusive games than ever before.”
However, observers questioned whether the loss of exclusive sporting asset rights to BT’s crown jewel could harm the company.
Amazon’s limited number of games are the first selection, which the company has said guarantees will be coveted matches with English teams, until the semi-finals if it goes so far, and the BBC’s highlights can be appealing to to viewers worried about the increase. cost of household bills, including pay TV.
Overall, Uefa is estimated to have increased the value of its rights from 1.2 billion pounds to about 1.5 billion pounds in its last auction.
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“UEFA has been able to increase the value of the rights by opening the tender and packages to more players,” said Paolo Pescatore, an independent analyst at PP Foresight. “This will not affect fans if they are forced to spend more during these unprecedented times with a higher cost of living. While BT Sport loses exclusivity, it provides long-term certainty in the joint venture with Discovery, providing to fans more games and for less money “.
Last month BT reached a £ 633 million deal with US media company Warner Bros. Discovery to set up a joint pay-TV sports company combining BT Sport and Eurosport, with rights that include the coverage of the Pan-European Olympic Games.
BT has said that despite the dilution of its rights control it will continue to make the final available for free; so far it has had a deal with YouTube. The new joint venture may or may not decide to continue using YouTube as an outdoor platform.