Stan inks extended UEFA Champions League broadcast deal

Stan is owned by Nine, which is the publisher of The Australian Financial Review.

The deal comes as Mr Kugeler confirmed Stan, which had about 2.6 million active subscribers in February, has extended its deal with Rugby Australia for the sport’s broadcast rights. The platform also has the rights to all Australian Open games, as well as Wimbledon, Roland Garros and the US Open.

From 2024-25, the format of the UEFA tournaments has been radically changed, adding more teams and a greater variety of games. Top teams like the English Premier League’s Manchester City, for example, could face eight different opponents instead of a European tournament’s top team twice.

Mr Kugeler said it meant a 31 per cent increase in the number of games compared to the current schedule.

Stan does not have broadcast rights to the AFL, NRL or cricket, but Mr Kugeler says it has invested in those with very active fan bases that each add new revenue and audiences.

“That is how the proposition can become profitable. It’s not additional sport for the same audience,” he said. “Rugby, we extended. Tennis – Australian Open has been extended. Extending UEFA, that gives us the three key pillars for Stan Sport. It also gives us the flexibility for other sports, but we don’t have to.”

In March, Stan Sport raised its prices from $10 a month to $15 a month. That followed price rises for Stan’s entertainment side in September last year from $14 a month to $16 a month.

“The subsequent subscriber performance has been consistent with previous price rises, and Stan’s expectations,” Nine chief executive Mike Sneesby told last week’s Macquarie Conference.

“Nine continues to expect growth in both revenue and EBITDA in FY23.”