The UEFA Champions League had been a cornerstone of Optus Sport’s football offering but the telco,along with other competitors,was left stunned by Sports Flick’s bid,which sources suggest was about $60 million for a three-year period,starting in the 2021-22 season – a significant increase on the last deal.
Sports Flick declined to comment on Saturday.
It is Sports Flick’s second significant football rights coup this year,having also snatched the K-League from Optus,who secured the South Korean top division last year when it was one of the first competitions in the world to emerge from COVID-enforced shutdown.
For several weeks,the industry has been abuzz with rumours that Optus had lost the UEFA Champions League rights,but multiple sources – including high-ranking football executives – have been unable to ascertain who had actually won them.
Precious little is known about Sports Flick,who its backers are,if any,or whether they could be in the market for any domestic rights.
The company has built up a curious portfolio of content,including the UEFA Women’s Champions League – which this season features Matildas stars Sam Kerr (Chelsea) and Ellie Carpenter (Olympique Lyon) – as well as the Arabian Gulf League,Australian Baseball League,European handball and several mixed martial arts competitions.