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On Monday morning a series of emails that could shape the way you watch football for ever landed at the offices of some of the biggest players in the media world.
Relevent, the US agency brought in as part of a joint venture between UEFA and their clubs to maximise revenue, are launching the tender process for the rights to broadcast the Champions League from 2027.
They will ask some of the world's biggest companies to deliver their best bids for the right to show the flagship competition in Europe’s five biggest markets - the UK, Germany, Spain, Italy and France - over the following four years in what is, effectively, an online auction worth billions.
And the outcome may well provide an insight into how your Premier League viewing experience will look in the future.
As Daily Mail Sport reported earlier this week, New York-based Relevent have identified the likes of Amazon, Netflix, YouTube and Disney as an area for growth in a crowded marketplace as they seek to raise £4.3billion a year in overall revenues for their new customer.
They want to offer the first pick of each round – all the way to the semi-finals – to a global streaming service, and they are not likely to be short of offers. They are also planning to launch the competition with a single, standalone fixture, which is set to feature a grand opening ceremony. Taylor Swift at Anfield (again)? Don’t bet against it.
Streamers such as Amazon Prime Video have already experimented with Champions League coverage - now they could be set for a much more prominent role
Traditional broadcasters such as the hugely popular CBS Sports in the US could be under threat
This is a high-stakes arena. Relevent took over the gig from Swiss-based Team Marketing, after 30 years in which they turned the Champions League into one of global sport’s powerhouse brands.
There will be pressure to perform and, in good ol’ American style, Relevent believe they can get things done – and deliver what UEFA and the continent’s top clubs want. They will turn to the streamers to make that happen.
Netflix are expected to be among those on the prowl. The subscription service have enjoyed an incredible rise thanks to a series of hugely popular returning shows. Their stock, according to Forbes, has rocketed 128 per cent in the last year. Single shares are trading for a staggering $1,253.
But Stranger Things can only take you so far. When it comes to films, documentaries and sci-fi series there is always a shelf life and there are only so many storylines you can dream up.
Football however, is a different proposition. Storylines create themselves on a weekly basis, and the best bit is that someone else delivers them. And the Champions League, like the Premier League, offers nine months of guaranteed and often compelling content.
Money is unlikely to be an issue. Wall Street analysts believe the platform could spend as much as $18bn (£13.5bn) per year on content. To put that into context, Sky’s latest annual revenues came in at £10.2bn. The question being asked is when, rather than how, sports fits in to their offerings.
Netflix bosses will also be encouraged by their previous dips into the market. Last Christmas they set records with the most-streamed NFL games in US history, with 65million viewers tuning in for at least one minute of the two fixtures they screened, and the average viewership across the length of the games was 24m.
Though it may not have been to everyone’s taste, the screening of the Mike Tyson versus Jake Paul boxing exhibition last year was a positive too, while Netflix already have the broadcast rights in the US for the 2027 and 2031 Women’s World Cups.
Netflix enjoyed huge success with their NFL Christmas Gameday last year
The two games screened averaged a viewership of 24m, with 65m people tuning in for at least a minute of the broadcasts
Netflix also covered the Jake Paul vs Mike Tyson fight in Texas last November
Others with a similar mindset will circle. Disney, looking for other income streams outside of their theme parks, recently took the rights for the women’s Champions League in a vast swathe of territories and a foray into the men’s side of the competition would not come as a surprise.
DAZN will also take a look. Aided by funding from Saudi Arabia, they took the global streaming rights to the first two editions of the revamped Club World Cup and their coverage was widely seen as key to the new tournament's success. Apple have a 10-year global rights deal with Major League Soccer but sources close to the situation disclosed that they are seen as an outsider for the Champions League bidding.
The need to expand audiences is universal. In the second quarter of 2025, Netflix added three million subscribers, less than half of what they managed in the same period a year earlier. Disney+ serves around 178m subscribers but their streaming arm lost more than $300m (£225m) last quarter. Action is needed.
Money aside, there are other benefits in heading down the non-traditional route for UEFA and, potentially, the Premier League. Streamers often provide access to the much-sought-after younger market. For clubs, the increased fan engagement they can offer is something the legacy platforms struggle to match, although Sky have taken steps to do so this season.
Some may be reading this, sighing, and preparing to reach for an illegal firestick. Another subscription and another monthly bill to pay on top of the Premier League’s current partners Sky Sports and TNT Sports could be enough to tip many into despair, especially with the country in the grip of a cost of living crisis.
However, a bid for the Champions League rights from YouTube would not come as a shock to those close to the process - and could result in matches effectively being shown free-to-air.
The online video platform does not charge a subscription fee and instead relies upon cash from ads triggered by a high volume of users. While it is unlikely matches would be interrupted by ads, they could employ an ‘L-frame’, where products can be promoted during games around two sides of the footage itself.
The hope from within, Daily Mail Sport understands, is for deals to be struck and announcements to be made before Christmas. Regardless of when the news drops, the Premier League will be watching closely. Broadcast money is what sets the League aside and allows it to continue to be the best on the planet.
DAZN are a major player in sports streaming and drove huge numbers at the Club World Cup this summer, helped by Saudi backing
Sky Sports and other Premier League rights holders are desperate not to be left in the dark as TV money continues to boom
It is why it destroys the competition in Europe and beyond. It is also why a bottom-half Premier League side such as Crystal Palace can count themselves among the favourites to win the Conference League.
But there is trouble in paradise. Last year, there was much trumpeting of the ‘record domestic TV deal’ for the 2025-29 cycle, which fetched £6.7bn. However, dig deeper and the agreement actually underlined a worrying trend.
The contract worked out at £1.68bn a year, compared to £1.71bn a year for the 2016-19 seasons. Add to that inflation, and the fact the current deal includes 99 games more, and you are looking at a fall of around 50 per cent per match. It is safe to say that, in order to buck a worrying trend, the Premier League are set to follow UEFA’s lead.
Officials will closely monitor the outcome and may well follow suit when it comes to the next sale of rights. Streaming may well be the future.
