Advanced Info Services (AIS), the major telecoms firm in Thailand, is set to secure rights to UEFA’s men’s club soccer competitions in Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia after becoming the governing body’s preferred bidder.
The rights deal covers the next four seasons (2027-28 to 2030-31) of the top-tier UEFA Champions League (UCL), second-tier Europa League, third-tier Conference League, and development Youth League, as well as the Super Cup, which is contested by the UCL and Europa League winners.
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Along with live coverage, AIS will also broadcast highlights and full-match replays on its AIS Play platform.
An exclusive negotiation period between UC3, a joint venture between UEFA and the European Football Clubs body, and AIS was unveiled today. The sales process is being carried out by Relevent Football Partners, UC3’s exclusive global sales partner.
Sportcal understands that multiple parties, including local and pan-regional broadcasters, were involved in bidding for the rights and the deal represents a significant increase on its current fees.
Should the new deal be ratified, it will be the first time the rights will be secured by a local media partner in Thailand in more than a decade, having been held by international pay-TV broadcaster BeIN since the 2012-13 season.
BeIN Sports currently holds the rights to show the UCL, Europa League, and Conference League, as well as the Women’s Champions League across the MENA region and 10 countries in Asia, including Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia, as part of a deal last renewed in April 2025, which is due to expire following the 2026-27 season.
Other Asian markets included in BeIN’s deal are Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei, Timor-Leste, Indonesia, and the Philippines.
The agreement is the second soccer rights package AIS has taken from BeIN recently, having secured the rights to German soccer’s top-tier Bundesliga for the 2026-27 to 2028-29 seasons in March.
BeIN Sports was the primary Bundesliga broadcaster in Thailand last season, through a three-year deal encompassing every game.
Should the UEFA rights package be ratified, it will also add to AIS’ growing sports portfolio as it looks to position itself as the country’s premier sports and entertainment provider.
As well as holding rights in the country to soccer’s top-tier English Premier League and France’s Ligue 1, the telecoms firm has a multi-year rights deal to show the ATP men’s tennis tour from the 2026 season, as well as American football's NFL and basketball’s NBA rights.
It also has an extensive golf offering, having acquired rights to the DP World Tour’s ongoing 2026 season, the US PGA Tour and women’s LPGA Tour.
Last August, the telecoms firm landed a deal with women’s sport-centric TV channel W-Sport, which was made available on the AIS Play app and the AIS Playbox channel.
The deal gives customers access to action from major women’s soccer leagues such as Germany’s Frauen-Bundesliga, Italy’s Serie A Femminile, the United States' USL Super League, and Sweden’s Damallsvenskan.
