There has been criticism of the cost of seats for the Champions League final, but for Uefa it is at the centre of its financial viability. Last season it generated 73 per cent of its income, €1.1 billion in total.
A decade or so ago there was a talk of a televised breakaway league of top clubs, but the Champions League provides a means of keeping them happy. €746.4m was distributed among the 32 teams in the last competition. Last year’s champions, Inter, received just under €50m in prize and TV money.
There has been criticism of the cost of seats for the Champions League final, but for Uefa it is at the centre of its financial viability. Last season it generated 73 per cent of its income, €1.1 billion in total.
A decade or so ago there was a talk of a televised breakaway league of top clubs, but the Champions League provides a means of keeping them happy. €746.4m was distributed among the 32 teams in the last competition. Last year’s champions, Inter, received just under €50m in prize and TV money.
The presence of Manchester United in the final is a big plus for ITV and Sky Sports who will screen the match live. The two finalists are certainly capable of entertaining the over 110 million armchair fans expected to switch on this evening, although sometimes such an occasion can produce cautious football. In any event the Champions League final overtook the Super Bowl as the world’s most popular televised sporting event in 2009.
Domestically, ITV is expected to collect £8m in advertising revenue with a 30-second spot commanding £200,000. Other beneficiaries are London hotels with bookings up by two-thirds compared with a normal Saturday.