September 15 – UEFA has today launched a Request for Proposals (RFP) for the acquisition of media rights for the Women’s Champions League 2021–25 cycle.
UEFA has aggregated all the TV rights into a centralised sales platform for the reformated competition that now has a more compelling broadcast sales story.
From the 2020/21 season, the format will see four groups of four teams with the top two teams in each group qualifying for the quarter-finals which will be played home and away as well the semi-finals.
“The centralised rounds of the competition will consist of a total of 61 matches per season, all of which will be produced for broadcast. Ten out of the 11 matchdays will have their own exclusive slot in the match calendar. This will mean they will not clash with matches in other UEFA competitions, while prime-time kick-off slots will allow for maximum reach,” said a UEFA press release.
The centralisation of the Women’s Champions League rights follows on from the successful unbundling of the commercial rights to the international women’s game and the creation of a growing separate and sustainable income stream to European women’s football.
“Over the last few years we have seen some ground-breaking decisions taken, such as the unbundling on sponsorship rights from the men’s game, which has seen the likes of Visa, Nike, Esprit, Hublot and Pepsi commit to becoming proud partners. Now for the first time we are seeing a new centralised format of the UEFA Women’s Champions League, a step that will lead to increased professional structures as well as giving more and more fans from across the world the opportunity to share in the excitement of the competition and watch the best teams and players in action,” said Nadine Kessler, UEFA’s chief of women’s football.
Guy-Laurent Epstein, director of marketing at UEFA Events SA, said: “At a time of unparalleled development for women’s football globally, this is a fantastic opportunity to contribute to the further promotion, coverage and engagement with this prestigious competition, helping drive the development of the elite women’s game.”
The deadline for proposals is October 14.
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