With a week to go before the Uefa Exco meeting at which European football’s governing body is expected to award the global media rights for the European Qualifiers property, the handful of bidders still involved in the process – from over 70 bidders initially – say that they are in the dark about Uefa’s intentions.
Uefa received over 20 bids from agencies and over 50 bids from broadcasters for four years from 2014-15. After two rounds of bidding, it is thought that at least three agencies – IMG Media, Lagardère Unlimited, and a third, as-yet unidentified, company – are still in consideration, along with a number of individual broadcaster bids and a multi-territory bid from the European Broadcasting Union, the consortium of public-service broadcasters.
One agency executive told TV Sports Markets today: “After weeks of talks, we have now heard nothing from Uefa for several days. Nobody really knows what’s coming next. There is no clear process. It’s a classic negotiating strategy, putting pressure on the bidders. Uefa will be enjoying that there is a lot of uncertainty and speculation about who is bidding.”
Another agency executive said: “It’s gone very quiet. Either they are getting on with something or they are stuck. It’s not clear which.”
Much of the speculation this week has centred on the unexpected bid from an agency advised by former Lagardère Unlimited executives Stéphane Schindler and Olivier Guiguet. The pair registered a new consultancy, F Conseils, in Nyon, Switzerland, on June 6. The company is described in the register as being engaged in “the sale of media and commercial rights for international football (excluding North America and South America) as consultants or intermediaries.”
The exclusion of the Americas has led to speculation that they are being backed by a major sports rights agency in that region. However, it is thought that the company they are advising is not one of the mainstream sports-rights intermediaries but a relatively new player.
One experienced rights negotiator told TV Sports Markets that it was essential for Uefa to have at least three big agency bidders at the table. Where there are only two bidders there is a higher risk that they can carve up the world’s markets between them – according to the strategic needs of each – and force down the price.
Uefa has committed between €1 billion ($1.26 billion) and €1.2 billion over four years to its member federations.