UEFA over the next several weeks will look to re-sell English-language rights for the next two seasonsGETTY IMAGES
Turner Sports told UEFA that it has opted out of its Champions League contract, which means that Turner likely will not carry any more matches. Turner execs called UEFA last week to say that it will exercise a clause in its contract to get out of carrying league games when it starts up again this summer and for all of next season. Univision still holds Spanish-language rights to the UCL through '24. UEFA will look to re-sell English-language rights for the next two seasons over the next several weeks. Sources said that UEFA has not held any discussions with potential U.S. media companies for the rights this year and next. CBS is the most logical partner, given that the net last November agreed to buy the rights from '21-24, though ESPN, NBC, Fox, Amazon and DAZN also could make bids. A possibility still exists that UEFA will ask Turner to carry the games this August, completing the season that Turner already started until play was suspended in March.
PRICE WILL BE KEY ELEMENT: The big question will come down to price, particularly this year. In August, the UCL will be staged as a single-elimination tournament in Portugal. UCL play was suspended in mid-March due to COVID-19. CBS and Univision will pay a combined $150M per year; Turner and Univision's current deal is valued at close to $100M per year, with Turner paying more than $60M per year. It is not known how much CBS committed to pay as part of the new deal. The decision to opt out makes business sense for Turner, given that it already knows that it is losing rights to CBS in '21 -- combined with the prolonged stoppage of play this season due to COVID-19.
