Paramount+ wins battle for UK Champions League rights with $1bn-plus bid

Paramount+ will screen American Football docuseries 5-Star

Paramount+ will be home to most UEFA Champions League football games in the UK from 2027, following a surprise bid from the streamer’s parent company, Paramount Skydance.

The bid, financial details of which are not known but is reportedly in excess of US$1bn, is a major statement of intent by the US media giant and follows similarly audacious moves for premium sports rights in the US.

The Guardian was first to report news of the deal, which runs from 2027 to 2031. Amazon-owned Prime Video will continue to have its pick of Tuesday evening matches, repeating the arrangement agreed in 2022.

That time, Warner Bros Discovery (WBD)-owned TNT Sports (fka BT Sport) took the bulk of the live UEFA Champions League matches in the UK, but along with Disney and Netflix, it has now been outbid by Paramount+, which also holds rights in the US.

The news comes as Paramount, along with Netflix and Comcast, have tabled offers to buy WBD, which started accepting a first round of bids from parties interested in acquiring all or parts of the media giant yesterday.

Meanwhile, Comcast-owned Sky has secured the exclusive rights to show every Europa League and Conference League match in the UK over four years from the 2027-28 season, taking them away from TNT Sports.

In related news, Paramount+ will premiere docuseries 5-Star, spotlighting the real-time transformations of four elite college freshman American football recruits, on December 2.

Commissioned by Paramount+ and CBS Sports, 5-Star is produced by 101 Studios, Bosque Ranch Productions and Tom Brady’s Religion of Sports in conjunction with the Big Ten Network and APX Content Ventures.