May 23 – The UEFA Women’s Champions League has found a new home in the UK with Disney+ clinching a landmark five-year deal to broadcast European women’s football’s premier club competition, wresting the rights from DAZN who had held them for the past four seasons.
The streaming giant’s commitment to showing every single match live represents a significant upgrade in coverage ambition, signaling both the competition’s growing commercial appeal and Disney’s serious intent in the sports streaming arena. But while the deal marks progress for women’s football visibility, it also underscores a troubling trend toward broadcast fragmentation that’s making the sport increasingly expensive to follow comprehensively.
Disney+ now becomes the sixth major broadcaster covering women’s football in the UK market – a statistic that tells two stories simultaneously.
The BBC and Sky continue their partnership on the Women’s Super League, TNT Sports and Channel 4 have secured fresh rights to the Women’s FA Cup, while ITV shares England women’s team coverage with the BBC during major tournaments. WSL 2 remains freely available on YouTube, providing the only easily accessible option in an increasingly complex landscape.
The deal was orchestrated by UC3, a joint venture between UEFA and the European Club Association, with sports marketing agency Two Circles commissioned to execute the negotiations. Sources suggest Disney+ didn’t just outbid competitors financially – they also raised the bar on production values, promising enhanced coverage that could elevate the tournament’s presentation significantly.
The timing aligns with the competition’s structural evolution. Next season will see the Women’s Champions League adopt the Swiss-system format that debuted in the men’s tournament this year, expanding from a 16-team group stage to an 18-team league phase with a unified table. It’s a format designed to create more meaningful matches and eliminate dead rubbers, though whether it delivers remains to be seen.
For Disney+, the acquisition represents a strategic play in the competitive streaming wars, adding premium live sports content to differentiate their platform. The move follows their successful ventures into sports broadcasting across various markets and positions them as serious players in European football rights.
However, the broader picture reveals women’s football’s double-edged sword. While increased broadcaster interest demonstrates growing commercial value and ensures wider coverage, the resulting fragmentation creates genuine barriers for supporters. Following your team across multiple competitions now requires subscriptions to numerous platforms – a reality that risks excluding precisely the grassroots fanbase the sport needs to cultivate.
Sometimes progress comes with unintended consequences, and in an era where content is king, consumers increasingly find themselves paying the price for the crown jewels of sport being scattered across multiple kingdoms.
Contact the writer of this story at moc.l1747996619labto1747996619ofdlr1747996619owedi1747996619sni@r1747996619etsbe1747996619w.kci1747996619n1747996619