Media giant Disney is set to make a significant entry into the women's football market in Europe. The company has reportedly won a media rights tender for the elite UEFA Women’s Champions League (UWCL) competition, marking an exciting new chapter for sports broadcasting.
As reported by The Guardian, Disney+ OTT streaming service will showcase the tournament on a five-year deal. This agreement commences with the 2025-26 campaign and extends through to the 2029-30 season.
The deal was struck with UC3, a joint venture established by UEFA governing body and European Club Association. Territories covered under this agreement include the UK, which will send at least six participants to compete in the 2025-26 season: three from England, two from Scotland, and one each from Northern Ireland and Wales. Disney takes over from global sports OTT service DAZN that held these rights since 2021-22 season.
EBU secures free-to-air broadcast package
In addition to Disney's acquisition of media rights, The European Broadcasting Union (EBU), an umbrella body of free-to-air broadcasters across Europe also secured a smaller rights package for free-to-air distribution of UWCL tournament. This package includes broadcasts of showpiece final events as well as fixtures featuring teams from EBU members within their respective territories.
In previous years, EBU sublicensed major UWCL fixtures for its member broadcasters. In line with this tradition, it plans to showcase UEFA Women's Euros national team competition in 2025 using highlights and shoulder content produced by Eurovision Sport - EBU’s free-to-air streaming service.
New format & increased games
The upcoming seasons promise more excitement as UWCL plans to change its format for the 2025-26 campaign. It will move to a league phase with 18 sides, followed by a playoff round, thereby increasing the number of games on offer.
In related news, BeIN Sports, an international pay-TV broadcaster recently extended its exclusive deal covering rights to UWCL and men’s UEFA European club football competitions for Middle East, North Africa (MENA), and several markets in Asia. This extension covers the 2025-26 and 2026-27 seasons. The countries included in this extension are Algeria, Bahrain, Chad, Djibouti, Egypt, Iran, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, UAE, Yemen, Iraq, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei, Timor-Leste, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Indonesia and the Philippines.
Disney's entry into women's football broadcasting marks a significant milestone for sports fans. With changes in format and increased games on offer from UWCL along with expanded coverage from EBU and BeIN Sports - fans can look forward to more exciting action from their favorite teams.
