A view inside the NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium during the UEFA Champions League Final between Real Madrid and Liverpool on May 26, 2018 in Kiev, Ukraine. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
Last week, Facebook and Brazilian TV channel Esporte Interativo secured the rights to broadcast the UEFA Champions League in Brazil for the next three years, beginning with the 2018/19 season.
The news was originally reported by Brazilian publication UOL. According to that report, the negotiation process hasn’t yet fully concluded. The exact terms of the deal are still to be decided, including the division of games between the two platforms. The social media giant will stream games for free, while Esporte Interativo, a division of Turner Sports, will own the pay-TV rights to games.
Facebook is taking over from Brazilian broadcaster Globo, which didn’t submit a bid for the rights this time around. In part this may be because Globo’s budget was limited after an increase in the cost of rights to major regional soccer competitions, including South America’s Copa Libertadores, the Copa do Brasil, and the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A.
SportTechie Takeaway
Facebook is making a major move into the sports rights business that could position the social media giant to be a significant player on that stage for years to come. In May, the company also acquired Brazilian rights to the Thursday slate of Copa Libertadores matches through 2022. Last week, Bloomberg reported that the company is in talks to get the rights to show English Premier League games across Southeast Asia. Facebook is competing in that territory against Qatari company BeIN Sports. Outside of soccer, Facebook has recently added PGA Tour events and BIG3 basketball games to its streaming portfolio, and continues to experiment with baseball.
The play to broadcast perhaps the premier domestic soccer tournament in the world—in one of its largest markets—has major implications for traditional, subscription-based broadcasting networks. Even though Turner maintains the pay-TV rights to the Champions League in Brazil for now, both contracts will expire at the same time. If Facebook can secure strong audience numbers this time around, it might have much more leverage when those rights are next negotiated.
