Sony extends broadcasting partnership with UEFA in Indian subcontinent for three years

Sony Pictures Networks India has extended its partnership with the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for the next three years until the season end of 2023-2024, the SPN announced on Friday.

With this renewal, SPN will be the official broadcaster of premium European club football properties: UEFA Champions League (UCL), UEFA Europa League (UEL), UEFA Youth League (UFL), UEFA Super Cup (USC) and the newly launched UEFA Europa Conference League (UECL) in the Indian sub-continent.

SPN will broadcast a total of 138 matches across UEFA Champions League and UEFA Super Cup properties, 141 matches of UEFA Europa League, 141 matches of UEFA Europa Conference League and 39 matches of UEFA Youth League each season. Select matches will be telecast live across Sony Sports channels and all matches will be live-streamed on its on-demand OTT platform SonyLIV.

Guy-Laurent Epstein, Marketing Director, UEFA in a statement said: "UEFA is delighted to renew our partnership with Sony Pictures Network India for the 2021-24 seasons. Sony Pictures Networks India brings a wealth of experience to premium sports broadcasting and will continue to provide best-in-class coverage of the UEFA Club Competitions to football fans across the Indian Sub-Continent."

The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is touted as one of the most prestigious club football tournaments in the world and sees participation from some of the most celebrated clubs in Europe like Real Madrid, Barcelona, Manchester City, Bayern Munich, Paris Saint- Germain, Liverpool, Juventus and many more. In addition, the league also features top players like Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Robert Lewandowski, Neymar Jr and Kylian Mbappe among many others.

The UEFA Europa League (UEL) is UEFA's second-tier European club and has seen participation from top teams across Europe like Manchester United, Arsenal, Inter Milan, AC Milan, Sevilla and more along with players like Harry Kane, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Bruno Fernandez, Romelu Lukaku and others in the past few seasons. The UEFA Super Cup is contested by the winners the UCL and UEL and this year fans witnessed a thrilling contest between Chelsea and Villarreal.

The UEFA Youth League is an annual club football competition contested by the youth (under19) teams of the clubs competing in the UEFA Champions League group stage, plus the domestic youth champions of the best-ranked national associations. The newly launched UEFA Europa Conference League is the third-tier football club competition for eligible European football clubs after the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Europa League.

( With inputs from ANI )