CBS Sports Acquires Exclusive Rights to Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Competitions

CBS Sports and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) today announced the details of a multi-platform agreement for Paramount+, ViacomCBS’ subscription streaming service, to serve as the exclusive U.S. home of AFC’s world-class competitions including the AFC Asian Qualifiers – Road to Qatar Final Round, AFC Champions League, AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2022 and AFC Asian Cup China 2023.

Paramount+ will deliver more than 300 club and national team matches live through 2024. Coverage begins in September with the AFC Asian Qualifiers – Road to Qatar Final Round, featuring Asia’s top 12 nations, with the competition continuing in 2022. Paramount+ coverage also includes the remainder of the 2021 AFC Champions League from the Knockout Stage matches through the Final in November. The service will be the home of the AFC Men’s Champions League each season through 2024. Paramount+. Try Paramount+ for 1 month FREE!

CBS Sports Digital will deliver additional coverage and original programming and feature highlights across social channels and CBS Sports HQ, the 24/7 streaming sports news network.

“The addition of Asian Football further elevates our extensive lineup of live soccer coverage on Paramount+, highlighted by elite club competition and some of the top national teams across both the men’s and women’s international game,” said Jeffrey Gerttula, Executive Vice President and General Manager, CBS Sports Digital. “Offering matches from this expansive region provides even more value by delivering year-round soccer coverage at a time of day when the sport traditionally isn’t offered to American fans.”

Dato’ Windsor John, the AFC General Secretary said: “The AFC is delighted to enter into this partnership with CBS Sports, which represents another progressive step towards increasing the visibility and consumption of the AFC’s competitions beyond our Continent. We look forward to working with CBS Sports in growing the fanbase of the AFC’s world-class competitions in the vibrant North American market as well as in the AFC’s territories in Guam and Northern Mariana Islands, and we thank them for believing in the future of Asian football.”

“We are thrilled to welcome CBS Sports to the family of AFC media partners. This partnership marks another important step on our mission to bring Asian football to ever bigger global audiences; hence, we are proud to see the AFC’s national team and club competitions soon being available across the U.S.,” said Patrick Murphy, Board Member, and CEO at Football Marketing Asia (FMA). “We are looking forward to working with CBS Sports to provide an exciting experience for its viewers, and to continue to grow the audience of Asian football fans in North America.”

CBS Sports’ coverage of the AFC Women’s Asian Cup edition, which also serves as the qualifiers for the FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia/New Zealand 2023, begins in 2022, while coverage of the AFC Asian Cup China 2023 begins in June 2023. Additional coverage details will be announced in advance of each respective competition.

The Asian Football Confederation consists of 47 member associations spanning the Middle East, Central Asia, East Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia and Australia, along with U.S. territory Guam and U.S. Commonwealth Northern Mariana Islands, each of which is in Oceania.

Paramount+, a leading destination for U.S. soccer fans, now features more than 1,600 live matches each year with the addition of Asian Football Confederation competition. The extensive portfolio of soccer properties includes UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League; NWSL; Concacaf national team competitions (Men’s World Cup Qualifiers, Women’s World Cup Qualifiers, Men’s Nations League, and Women’s Nations League); Italy’s Serie A; Argentina’s Liga Profesional de Fútbol; Brazil’s Campeonato Brasileirão Série A; and AFC competitions (AFC Asian Qualifiers – Road to Qatar, AFC Champions League, AFC Women’s Asian Cup and AFC Asian Cup).