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US media company Paramount will pay $1.5 billion for the right to broadcast the Champions League in the US. The company has edged out Amazon with this offer, US media reports.
The rights are valid for the next six years. The costs of broadcasting the football successes of major European clubs therefore amount to approximately 250 million dollars per year.
Under the previous contract, Paramount was paying $100 million a year. The sharp increase in costs shows that European football is becoming increasingly popular across the Atlantic. In May, for example, 2.8 million Americans saw Real Madrid beat Liverpool in the Champions League final.
This still eclipses American football. This year, about 100 million people, mostly Americans, watched the biggest game in American football, the Super Bowl.
Eredivisie offside
The popularity was already evident late last year when rival Comcast Corporation paid $2.5 billion for the English Premier League broadcasting rights.
The Dutch Eredivisie can count on less interest from American media companies. ESPN held the rights for the United States until last season. But the American sports media company did not renew its contract for this season, it told viewers this weekend via Twitter.
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