The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) has initiated the tender process for media rights to its premier club competitions for the 2024-27 cycle in Ukraine. The deadline for bid submissions is set for April 22.
The governing body has launched tenders covering rights to the top-tier UEFA Champions League (UCL), second-tier Europa League, and third-tier Europa Conference League matches, spanning from the 2024-25 season through to the end of 2026-27.
Currently, coverage of UEFA club competition action in Ukraine during the ongoing 2021-24 cycle is provided by Megogo, a streaming service. Shakhtar Donetsk was Ukraine's sole representative at UCL group stage during the 2023-24 season.
Tender process are in action in many countries at the moment
Team Marketing, UEFA’s partner agency responsible for media and commercial rights sales across its club competitions, will handle these sales. All inquiries regarding this matter should be directed to info@team.ch before April 22.
Earlier this month, UEFA commenced a similar tender process for club competition media rights in Israel with an April 9 deadline. Late last month also saw UEFA venturing into three Baltic markets and Caribbean territories.
In terms of recent deals unveiled by UEFA, Indian media conglomerate Sony Pictures Networks announced it would broadcast three seasons of UCL, Europa League and Europa Conference League starting from next year.
New format from 2024/25 season has changed dynamics
From the commencement of the season in late summer of '24 onwards all three tiers - UCL ,Europa league & Europa conference league will operate under a new format wherein each team will play eight matches instead of six games as per current structure during opening group stage . This means more fixtures than ever before in the competition.
The competition will initially adopt a new single-league structure, replacing the current format of multiple groups from which teams qualify for the knockout stage. The total number of teams will increase from 32 to 36, and matches will expand from 125 to an impressive tally of 189 UCL matches.
This move is expected to provide more opportunities for clubs across Europe and offer sports fans more thrilling action on their screens.
