Uefa Champions League to have free-to-air coverage in Fiji

The Uefa Champions League will be broadcast free-to-air in Fiji for the first time after the Fiji Broadcasting Corporation acquired selected rights starting in the 2018-19 season.

FBC Sports will broadcast two live matches per match-week, with a delayed match airing on FBC TV.

In recent years, Uefa has generally moved towards a strategy of selling exclusive rights to pay-television broadcasters which are willing to pay higher rights fees. However, in some markets Uefa believes free-to-air exposure provides better value in the long term, helping grow the popularity of the competition.

Champions League rights in the country were previously held by beIN Media Group as part of its three-season deal across Oceania, from 2015-16 to 2017-18. Rights were exploited on its beIN Sports pay-television channels.

FBC chief executive officer Riyaz Sayed-Khaiyum is keen to keep the property on free-to-air in the long term, saying: “We want to ensure that we have enough backing for this to be able to provide Uefa Champions League on free-to-air television for years to come.”