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Champions League holders to get curtain-raiser status
The new broadcast strategy includes global streaming deals aiming to increase annual revenue above 5 billion euros, starting with a standalone home opener from 2027.
- From the 2027-28 season, Champions League holders will play a standalone opening home fixture on the first Tuesday game in September 2027 in the 36-team competition.
- The change is part of a new strategy for the 2027-33 broadcast cycle, UC3 said on Monday evening, involving a six-year rights sales deal with Relevent to drive annual revenue above 5 billion euros.
- UC3 will run tenders for the five biggest European markets simultaneously, with the deadline for offers set as Nov. 18 and a global first-pick package appealing to streaming services such as DAZN, Netflix, Disney.
- That should be a 17-game seasonlong deal including the final on a Saturday, with the rest of opening-week games split across Wednesday and Thursday; Europa League pays 565 million euros and Conference League 285 million euros this season.
- Relevent, co-founded by Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross, seeks a global streaming partner as it promotes Villarreal vs. Barcelona on Dec. 20, which UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin called `regrettable'.
19 Articles
19 Articles
The Champions League will start the 2027/28 season with a novelty - the opening match, which the defending champion will play at its home stadium.
The reigning monarch of the Champions League will contest an inaugural match at home as part of new commercial contracts for UEFA club competitions starting from the 2027-28 season, which include a global transmission agreement to boost annual revenues above €5 billion ($5.8 billion). It is one of the innovations foreseen in a six-year rights sale agreement signed with the US-based agency Relevent, until 2033 with UC3, the 'joint venture' that U…
Great innovation! The royal class starts from 2027 with an official opening game at the defending champion.
The Königsklasse is getting an innovation. In two years there will be a special game to start.
The Königsklasse is getting an innovation. In two years there will be a special game to start.
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