UEFA Marketing Dir Guy-Laurent Epstein said that the latest packages of Champions League broadcast rights, featuring more of Europe’s top club football teams and more primetime games, are "expected to contribute to a record" €3.2B ($3.4B) per season in media and marketing income, according to Tariq Panja of BLOOMBERG. That would mark a 28% increase over the last deal, which brought in €2.5B per year, "making it one of the more valuable sports properties in the world." Nearly every country in the world broadcasts Champions League games, and media rights account for about 80% of UEFA’s club football revenue. Sponsorships "make up the rest." The sale, which began on Tuesday, offers three-year sponsorship and TV rights to the '18-21 Champions League and the second-tier Europa League. UEFA "makes a sizable share of its money" from U.K. media rights, which along with Germany, Spain, France and Italy make up 60% of its broadcast income. BT Group currently holds the U.K. rights, for which it paid £897M ($1.14B) for the '15-18 cycle. While "lucrative for UEFA, some sponsors and fans were annoyed to see the games move exclusively to a pay-TV operator for the first time." Epstein said, "We can’t reserve rights for free-to-air. The market dictates where the markets end up. I would love it if ITV comes back with a very competitive offer. But I don’t know how much they could compete with pay-TV." Ampere Analysis Dir Richard Broughton said that sports spending by media companies is already "pushing at the margins." He added that UEFA "would nonetheless hit its target" (BLOOMBERG, 12/12).
