Dazn is preparing a groundbreaking bid to secure global broadcasting rights for the UEFA Champions League beginning in 2027, marking another major step in Saudi Arabia’s growing influence in international football.
The move comes after Saudi-owned Surj Sports Investment purchased a 10 percent stake in Dazn earlier this year for one billion dollars, equivalent to about 746 million pounds.
The investment followed Dazn’s one billion dollar deal with FIFA to acquire exclusive global streaming rights for the Club World Cup. That tournament attracted what Dazn described as an audience of 2.7 billion total views and generated around 10 billion social media engagements.
Encouraged by those figures, Dazn is now positioning itself to bid for UEFA’s newly introduced global rights package for the 2027 to 2031 Champions League cycle.
For the first time, UEFA is offering a worldwide streaming package that gives the winning platform the rights to broadcast one Tuesday night match per round across every market.
According to industry sources cited by The Daily National News, the UC3 joint venture between UEFA and European football clubs values those global rights at around 440 million pounds per year.
That valuation represents roughly 10 percent of the total projected revenue for all Champions League matches during the same cycle, making the four-year package worth approximately 1.76 billion pounds.
The tender process is being managed by US-based Relevent Sports and is designed to attract streaming giants such as Netflix, Amazon, and Disney+.
However, Dazn’s established global streaming network and experience with live sports broadcasting put it in a strong position to compete.
The company’s 63-match live coverage of the Club World Cup was considered a technical success, with no major streaming issues reported across multiple regions.
Although viewing figures in the United Kingdom were modest, Dazn experienced major success in other markets, particularly Brazil, where FIFA said 131 million people tuned in, equivalent to 62 percent of the population.
Nielsen Sports analysis for FIFA revealed that 28 million people watched the tournament in Italy and another 24 million in Spain, two countries where Dazn has significant market presence due to its existing rights for Serie A and La Liga.
Dazn’s growing interest in Europe’s premier club competition comes at a time when the platform is restructuring its financial operations to reach profitability.
A source inside the company told The Daily National News that its owners, Access Industries led by Sir Len Blavatnik and Saudi-backed Surj Sports Investment, are focused on making Dazn profitable after years of heavy losses.
Another insider said the directive to reduce costs came shortly after the Club World Cup, but both Blavatnik and Surj remain willing to fund major acquisitions that strengthen Dazn’s global footprint.
As part of its cost-saving strategy, Dazn recently notified the Belgian Jupiler Pro League that it intends to renegotiate its five-year, 440 million dollar broadcasting agreement.
The renegotiation comes after Dazn failed to secure a carriage deal with traditional broadcasters, leaving Belgian league games available only through the Dazn app.
Earlier this year, Dazn also terminated its French Ligue 1 contract after just one season, citing poor subscriber numbers.
That move, while costly in the short term, will save the company around 1.5 billion euros over four years. Dazn paid a 100 million euro termination fee but avoided escalating payments that would have reached 500 million euros annually by the final season.
These decisions have significantly reduced Dazn’s overall losses, which dropped from 1.4 billion dollars to 936 million dollars in its latest financial report.
Chief executive Shay Segev told The Daily National News that the company aims to achieve profitability by 2026 and position itself as “the Spotify of sport.”
Industry analysts believe securing the global rights to the Champions League could transform Dazn’s reputation from a regional player into a dominant global sports broadcaster.
The deal would also deepen Saudi Arabia’s influence in international football, following its major investments in Newcastle United, the Saudi Pro League, and global sponsorships.
If successful, Dazn’s Champions League bid would mark a new era in sports broadcasting, shifting the focus from traditional television to global digital streaming platforms.
While Dazn declined to comment officially on its bid, industry insiders told The Daily National News that the company is preparing an aggressive financial proposal that could reshape how fans watch football worldwide.
