When Netflix dipped into live sport with the Jake Paul versus Mike Tyson fight in November 2024, the platform was testing waters it had long been reluctant to enter.
The bout delivered a staggering 65 million streams at its peak.
For UEFA, it represents the latest attempt to reshape football’s most valuable club competition into something even more lucrative. Current rights already generate about €4.4 billion annually, but the European governing body and the European Football Clubs (EFC) organisation — formerly the European Club Association, are eyeing at least €5 billion a year in the next cycle.
That ambition would push UEFA’s club competition earnings beyond the Premier League’s current £3.6 billion a season from domestic and overseas broadcast deals. It is, in short, football’s most aggressive push yet to claim a seat at the table alongside America’s money-spinning leagues.
A new model for the biggest prize
From 2027, UEFA and the European Football Clubs (EFC) organisation will package their competitions differently. For the first time, a global broadcaster will be offered one Champions League game per round, with first choice of Tuesday fixtures but limits on how often the same team can be shown.
This is the product Netflix has been sounded out for, according to The Times UK. It mirrors Amazon’s existing arrangement in the UK, Germany and Italy, where the tech giant streams one marquee fixture per round. Apple, meanwhile, already owns the global rights to Major League Soccer.
The rights for the rest of the Champions League, as well as the Europa League and Conference League, will be sold to traditional broadcasters who can bid across multiple major markets at once. Discovery/TNT Sports, Sky, DAZN and others will inevitably be part of that battle.
The sale is being handled by Relevent Sports, the US-based agency behind CBS’s $1.5 billion six-year deal for Champions League rights in America. That deal runs until 2030, and UEFA is expected to consider contracts of three to six years this time too.
Why €5bn matters
UEFA’s current cycle earns about €4.4 billion a year. A jump to €5 billion would push European football’s top competition ahead of the Premier League’s domestic and overseas TV package, which stands at around £3.6 billion annually.
That matters for two reasons. First, it reinforces the Champions League as football’s most lucrative club competition, not just in prestige, but in cold numbers. Second, it ensures the prize money pool for clubs will grow, deepening the financial rewards of qualification.
The new Champions League format, launched last season, already increased distributions by 25 per cent compared to the previous cycle. Another step up, backed by streaming platforms, would only accelerate that growth.
But with growth comes familiar concerns: that the rich will get richer. Clubs in smaller leagues fear that every extra euro funnelled into the Champions League widens the gulf between elite sides and those locked out of regular participation. UEFA insists solidarity payments and Europa/Conference League allocations will continue to grow at a faster pace, but history suggests the top tier’s share dominates.
The Netflix gamble
So why would Netflix want in now?
Until recently, the platform avoided live sport, focusing instead on behind-the-scenes documentaries such as Formula 1: Drive to Survive and its tennis and golf spin-offs. The argument was that scripted and unscripted content had longer shelf life, while live sport was costly and fleeting.
That position shifted with two experiments: the Tyson vs Jake Paul fight, which peaked at 65 million streams, and the acquisition of US rights to the 2027 and 2031 Women’s World Cups. Both showed Netflix could draw vast live audiences and attach its brand to premium sporting moments.
Champions League football, however, is on another scale. The appeal of having Real Madrid, Bayern Munich or Manchester City live on Netflix is clear, it creates a weekly global event to drive engagement and cut subscriber churn. But it also comes with risk, football rights are expensive, and consumer loyalty in streaming is fragile.
Clubs, broadcasters and the bargaining table
For the clubs, there is little ambiguity. Higher media rights income means more money in their accounts, whether directly through prize money or indirectly through solidarity distributions. For the biggest, it locks in competitive dominance. For mid-tier sides, it is both a lifeline and a frustration, a reminder of how far the financial ladder stretches.
Broadcasters face a tougher question. If Netflix joins the party, it changes the psychology of the bidding process. Platforms like TNT or Sky will be forced to dig deeper to retain their packages, or risk losing relevance on European nights.
For fans, fragmentation is already a pain point. Watching the Champions League, Premier League and domestic cups often requires multiple subscriptions. Bringing Netflix into the picture would likely mean higher subscription fees and added costs for households. UEFA, though, will argue that the trade-off is broader and more accessible global coverage.
Ceferin’s vision
UEFA president Aleksander Čeferin, speaking at the EFC assembly in Rome, was bullish about the direction of travel.
“Together we are building something unique with ambition, to deliver the most engaging football, the most innovative and the most accessible to expand our core revenue streams,” he said. “This is how we will keep European football at the very top.”
His words underline the governing body’s belief that digital platforms are not just bidders but long-term partners who can carry football into new markets. Across the globe, the chance to click on Netflix and see the Champions League may feel like a logical next step.
On the bigger picture, whether Netflix wins the rights or not, its presence in the bidding process ensures one thing: prices will rise. UEFA’s €5 billion target looks increasingly attainable, and perhaps even conservative.
The big question is whether the extra money will be shared around or just make Europe’s biggest clubs even stronger. Streaming might look like something new, but football’s money story hasn’t really changed; most of it stays at the top, and only a little, if any, filters down.
Putting the Champions League on Netflix would grab headlines. But behind that is the same old story that has run through European football for years, UEFA making more, big clubs gaining more power, and fans left to pick up the bill.
