June 30 – UEFA has taking the groundbreaking step of making the first two seasons of its revamped Women’s Champions League free-to-air via a new partnership with DAZN and YouTube.
The four-year global broadcasting partnership will for the first two seasons (2021-23), show live and on demand all 61 matches from the group stage onwards on DAZN and free on DAZN’s YouTube channel.
For the 2023 to 25 seasons, matches will be live on DAZN while 19 matches will be made available for free on DAZN’s YouTube channel.
Nadine Kessler, UEFA Chief of Women’s Football, said: “This deal is a first for women’s football as this partnership between UEFA and DAZN and YouTube will make sure that the UEFA Women’s Champions League can be seen by the fans, by all the people who love this game, wherever they are on the globe. Such visibility changes everything.”
The new broadcast deal in the first two seasons will give the women’s game and the Women’s Champions League in particular, unprecedented exposure on a major streaming-based broadcast service.
UEFA said in a press release that the agreement “is one of the largest broadcast deals in women’s club football history and signifies another game-changing move in UEFA’s and its partners´ global commitment to women’s sport, centered on the mission of growing the UEFA Women’s Champions League, turning more players and teams into household names, and inspiring the next generation of players – all of which starts with more people around the world watching the game.”
UEFA’s new format for the Women’s Champions League sees a 16-team group stage, the rights for which ae sold centrally. The increased revenues have “built the foundation” for the financial distribution model which will see €24 million put back into women’s football across Europe.
UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin said: “Two years ago when we launched UEFA’s first ever women’s football strategy, “Time for Action”, we promised action that will lead to a greater, more professional and more prosperous game by 2024. Several initiatives have since followed and this summer is a giant leap in that direction.”
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