European soccer’s governing body UEFA has begun its tender process for the 2027-28 to 2030-31 cycle covering a slate of club competitions, including the top-tier Champions League, in the Netherlands.
The body issued an ‘invitation to submit offer’ (ISO) document yesterday in the Netherlands, covering three seasons of the Champions League, the annual Super Cup, and UEFA Youth League.
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A separate ISO was launched simultaneously covering the same three seasons and territory for the second-tier Europa League and third-tier Conference League.
The sales process is being administered by UC3, the venture that manages commercial affairs for UEFA’s club competitions, and its agency partner, London-based Relevent Football Partners, which began the process of selecting broadcast partners for the next cycle over the last couple of months.
Parties are being asked to submit their interest by February 25, at 11 am CET, to offers@RELFP.com
Ziggo Sport, the Dutch pay-television network owned by telecoms operator VodafoneZiggo, holds exclusive rights to all three competitions for the current 2024-25 to 2026-27 cycle in the country.
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By GlobalDataThe separate tenders come amid a change in strategy for UEFA after it was reported by Dutch publication Vandaag Inside that UEFA wanted separate broadcasters to air the three competitions for the next cycle after seeing a fall in audience numbers for the Europa League and Conference League under Ziggo Sport.
In October, Dutch sports marketing executive Chris Woerts told the news outlet: “All the rights are now exclusively with Ziggo. They're not going to do that anymore with UEFA. They say that one channel with all the rights isn't good for audience share and appeal.”
Woerts added that sponsors had “complained that they [Ziggo Sports] have much lower viewing figures and generate far fewer eyeballs. Heineken pays over a hundred million a year to acquire those rights … So, they simply want visibility."
Before Ziggo Sport, RTL, the prominent Dutch free-to-air (FTA) commercial broadcaster, won rights to the UCL for the 2021-22 to 2023-24 cycle, while incumbent fellow broadcaster Talpa secured the Europa League and Conference League for the same period.
The two companies then merged in June 2021 to create a cross-media group including television, streaming, and digital platforms.
RTL had been keen to retain the rights for the 2024-27 cycle but lost out to Ziggo Sport during the bidding process.
Ziggo Sport has an extensive portfolio of soccer rights, including Spain’s LaLiga, France’s Ligue 1, Italy’s Serie A and Coppa Italia, Germany’s DFB-Pokal cup competition, England’s FA Cup, and the Belgian, Portuguese, and Scottish leagues.
The pay-TV operator also holds rights to the UEFA Nations League national teams competition and qualifiers for FIFA World Cups and UEFA European Championships.
However, Ziggo lost its rights to show the English Premier League from the ongoing 2022-23 season after it was acquired by the Viaplay streaming service after it launched in the Netherlands.
