Relevent wins ability to sell UEFA Champions League rights globally

A deal announced Friday could have major implications for the world of soccer.

That move sees UC3, a joint venture between UEFA and the European Club Association, give Relevent (a New York-based sports media organization founded in 2012 by Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross and others) “a global mandate to market, sell and manage the delivery of UEFA men’s club competitions’ commercial rights for six seasons, from 2027/28 to 2032/33.”

And while the actual U.S. rights for the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League and UEFA Conference League are currently held by CBS and parent company Paramount Global through 2029-30, there are both U.S. and global elements of note here.

On the global side, this provides Relevent (known for a variety of other soccer deals, including La Liga marketing, the International Champions Cup, and the English Football League) with significant power in terms of distributing UEFA club competition rights. This comes after an open tender process that started last summer and after an exclusive negotiating window that began in February. But it’s worth noting that this doesn’t mean the rights will immediately change hands in terms of end broadcasters. Indeed, as noted, the U.S. element of this already has a home through 2030.

However, there are other areas where that isn’t the case. And, rather than UEFA and/or C3 dealing with potential media buyers in those areas, that will now be Relevent doing so. So this, at the very least, puts Relevent in a more central position with respect to key worldwide soccer rights. They take over these global rights from TEAM Marketing, after already doing so for U.S. rights for these competitions.

In the U.S., Relevent already acquired the 2024-27 UEFA Champions League rights in 2022. To do so, they guaranteed UEFA a minimum of $250 million a year and then eventually sold those rights (and beyond) to Paramount Global (which wound up paying about that price through 2030 in a deal struck later in 2022). Thus, there isn’t an imminent U.S. change from this news.

But this does confirm that the Relevent-Paramount deal is likely to become a wider template, rather than a one-off North American deal.

Here are some further quotes on this latest move from a Relevent release:

Guy-Laurent Epstein, Co-Managing Director, UC3: “We are delighted to sign a global deal with Relevent, a company with whom we have an excellent relationship given our successful partnership during the current cycle in the US. We believe that this deal will help us remain at the vanguard of an ever evolving and changing landscape by maximising the value delivered by commercial programmes for both our partners and stakeholders.”

Charlie Marshall, Co-Managing Director, UC3: “UC3 is all about driving a step change in European club football marketing through an ever-closer partnership between UEFA and the clubs. Building on the success of the new UEFA men’s club competitions, we see a need to keep innovating and bringing new approaches and fresh ideas to the market. We are confident that our already flourishing partnership with Relevent will be a part of taking us to the next level, creating significant incremental value for the competitions, partners and fans.”

Danny Sillman, CEO and Co-founder, Relevent: ” We are honoured to partner with UC3 in representing the rights to UEFA’s men’s club competitions globally — including some of the most iconic and historic properties in global sports. We understand the history and significance, and plan to deliver on the potential for growth with fans and commercial partners around the world.”

We’ll see what this all leads to. In North America, the immediate change may not be drastic, with Relevent already in control of these rights and already striking deals for them. But those North American deals may wind up being something emulated more widely.