With a collaborative agreement between BT Sport and Amazon Prime, Champions League matches will be televised live by the latter for the first time in the UK. UEFA have abandoned the exclusivity paradigm that has seen BT Sport broadcast the tournament since 2015. In their rights auction for the 2024–2027 competition, Amazon are poised to gain in an effort to attract the next generation of streaming providers.
Amazon likely to acquire Champions League TV rights in the UK
Last season, Amazon launched a three-year deal to live stream Champions League matches in Germany. Securing rights in the UK will significantly improve their sports package and provide Premier League teams a major boost in terms of their ability to make money by selling matches to the new streaming services.
The new joint three-year agreement is anticipated to be worth more than the £1.2 billion paid for the rights to the 2022–2024 competition. Though that increase also takes into account the Champions League’s expansion to include 36 clubs from 2024 onwards. Here, each club will be playing eight group stage matches under the new system.
The rising number of games has pushed UEFA to lose their exclusivity. In the meantime, Amazon were interested, since they can provide fans with a variety of games. Since 2019, they have aired two rounds of live Premier League games. The coming season, they will start a new three-year partnership to continue doing so.
For Amazon, it is going to be their largest deal to date. Moreover, purchasing the Champions League will inspire teams to bid for more Premier League games in the next rights cycle after 2025.
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