Paramount Wins Surprise Bid for UEFA Champions League Rights

Group 1 - Paramount Skydance Corp. has won the bid for the television rights for the Champions League in the UK and Germany, marking a significant international sporting push for the US media group [1][3] - The Champions League rights are currently split between Amazon.com Inc. and TNT Sports, a joint venture between Warner Bros. Discovery Inc. and BT Group [3] - UEFA is reforming the broadcast tender process to enhance its appeal to streaming providers, initially planning to sell global rights packages but ultimately focusing on regional deals [2][6] Group 2 - The deal represents a significant win for UEFA and its new media advisers, Relevent Football Partners and UC3, marking a shift in their approach to media rights [4] - UEFA's Champions League generates billions of euros in commercial revenue each season, yet the media rights are fragmented among approximately 100 different broadcasters [5] - UEFA is targeting longer four-year contracts as streaming services expand their sports programming, having previously shortened deals to three years to increase competition [7] Group 3 - The Champions League has adopted a new, expanded league format, resulting in an 18% increase in broadcasting revenue within the top six markets, as reported by Enders Analysis [9]