Turner, Univision acquire Champions League TV rights starting in 2018
With a bid of more than $60 million annually, Turner has won the U.S. English-language media rights to the UEFA Champions League starting in 2018, according to Sports Business Journal. Univision retained the Spanish-language rights and will pay around $35 million per year.
Turner struck a three-year deal with UEFA, European soccer's governing body. The deal marks a return to soccer for the network, which has not aired the sport since the 1990 World Cup.
Turner shares rights to the NCAA men's basketball tournament with CBS and broadcasts games on TNT, TBS and TruTV.
Fox currently holds the U.S. English-language rights. Turner outbid Fox and NBC, which owns the rights to the English Premier League.
ESPN did not submit a formal bid, though it did have a stake in negotiations. BAMtech, a media company spun-off from MLB Advanced Media, submitted a bid of around $35 million per year, according to Sports Business Journal. Disney owns 33% of BAMtech, and had its bid won, the League's marquee games would have been broadcast on ESPN's family of networks.
