CBS has acquired U.S. broadcast and streaming rights for the UEFA Champions League, according to Sports Business Journal. Spanish-language TV network Univision will also retain the rights to broadcast the soccer competition in Spanish in the U.S., which it has held since last year.
The combined package between CBS and Univision will be worth about $150 million per year and will last for three years according to SBJ. The deal will run from the fall of 2021 through the spring of 2024. CBS plans to air Champions League matches on its main broadcast channel, the CBS Sports Network cable channel and its CBS All-Access OTT streaming service.
CBS All-Access has eight million subscribers. Though it has a deal to livestream NFL games, it is mostly known for its entertainment programming outside of sports. As comparison, The Walt Disney Company recently announced that ESPN+ had reached 3.5 million subscribers.
The UEFA Champions League is widely perceived to be the top club-competition in World soccer. Turner signed a three-season deal to broadcast it in the U.S. in 2018. That deal currently sees most matches appear on Turner’s B/R Live streaming service.
Turner reportedly made a bid to keep the English-language rights for the Champions League, but was outbid by CBS. According to SBJ, ESPN, NBC Sports Group, and Fox Sports also made bids to secure Champions League rights.
