broadcastsportsdeals

How Broadcasters Should Renegotiate Rights in an Era of Fewer Major Tournaments

UUnknown

2026-02-17

9 min read

A practical guide for broadcasters and media buyers on renegotiating rights after AFCON shifts to a four-year cycle and 2026 consolidation trends.

Fewer Majors, Bigger Risks: Why Broadcasters Must Renegotiate Now

Hook: If your CFO is worried about unpredictable cash flow, higher borrowing costs and fewer headline tournaments to drive advertising spikes, you are not alone. The Confederation of African Football's (Caf) December 2025 decision to move AFCON to a four-year cycle, combined with accelerating media consolidation in 2026, has fundamentally shifted the bargaining landscape for broadcast rights. Media buyers and broadcasters must act now to redesign deals, share risk and build flexible contracts that protect revenue and liquidity.

Topline — What changed and why it matters for broadcast rights

The most important facts first:

AFCON moves to a four-year cycle from 2028 — fewer marquee African football events means reduced frequency of premium inventory and revenue spikes for rights holders and broadcasters alike (CAF announcement, Dec 2025).
Consolidation of content and distribution in 2026 — mergers among producers and distributors (notable activity in early 2026) concentrate negotiating power on both sides and alter market comparables.
Macro finance environment: broadcasters face higher capital costs and tighter credit conditions through 2025–26, making large, lumpy rights payments riskier to underwrite.

Immediate implications

Valuation of sporadic tournaments increases but becomes more volatile.
Long-term fixed-fee contracts expose buyers to mismatch between payment schedules and revenue timing.
Sellers demand premium pricing for scarcity; buyers need protections against schedule or format changes.

Principles for renegotiation in 2026

Renegotiation must be guided by three core principles: flexibility, transparency and shared accountability. Use these as your north star when restructuring deals for AFCON and similar assets.

1. Prioritise flexible cash-flow terms

Design payment profiles that absorb timing shocks. Standard full-upfront rights fees worked when rates were low and tournaments frequent; they are riskier now.

Staggered payments: tie installments to calendar milestones (e.g., delivery of production assets), not just signature dates.
Indexed payments: link a portion of the fee to measurable revenue drivers — ad revenue, OTT subscriptions or pay-per-view sales — to align incentives.
Deferred fees with interest: negotiate partial deferral backed by promissory notes or rights-backed security to ease immediate cash outflows.

2. Move from fixed-fee to hybrid pricing

The market is shifting toward hybrid models that combine a guaranteed minimum with variable revenue sharing, reducing the buyer’s downside while offering upside to sellers.

Minimum Guarantee + Revenue Share: a modest MG protects seller floor; the remainder scales with CPMs, OTT ARPU or pay-per-view receipts.
Tiered escalators: set triggers so seller receives higher shares after specific audience or revenue thresholds.
Cap & Collar: limit upside and downside exposure to keep earnings predictable for both sides.

3. Embed robust KPI measurement and dispute resolution

Disagreements about viewership or ad inventory value are the largest cause of post-deal friction. Lock down a single, agreed measurement currency and a fast dispute path.

Agree on measurement providers (e.g., regional metering bodies, platform analytics) and data reconciliation timelines.
Include escalation ladders: joint audit rights, third-party adjudication, and expedited arbitration clauses tied to specific KPIs.

When marquee events are rarer, sellers will ask for higher premiums. Get creative with structures that distribute risk without eroding value.

1. Performance bonds & insurance

Event performance bonds: sellers provide a bond that pays out if the event is cancelled or moved unreasonably — reduces buyer exposure to unilateral changes.
Cancellation & attrition insurance: buyers should insist on insured protections for tournament cancellations, format changes and force majeure outcomes.

2. Revenue pooling and joint ad sales

Offer to run joint monetization to increase total pool value — and share fees based on performance.

Ad revenue pools: aggregate linear and digital ad sales and split net revenue after agreed costs.
Integrated sponsorship: co-sell category-exclusive sponsors and split fees in predefined ratios — use targeted pitch templates when you invite partners to co-sell.

3. Rights-partitioning to unlock liquidity

Split rights by platform, territory or language to make them more valuable and financeable.

Territorial carve-outs: buy domestic linear rights and auction digital, OTT or FAST sub-rights to local partners.
Platform split: separate linear from streaming and interactive rights to optimize monetization and attract different buyers.
Time-windowing: agree on exclusive windows for live vs delayed vs VOD distribution to maximize total revenue.

Practical negotiation tactics and playbook

Below is a tactical checklist media buyers and broadcasters can use when renegotiating current or upcoming rights deals.

Preparation

Compile a five-scenario financial model (best, base, downside, cancellation, sponsor-loss) that projects ad, subscription and sponsorship income for each AFCON cycle.
Gather comparable deals: recent AFCON bids, other continental football cycles and major tournament sales. Use 2025–26 transactions as anchors.
Audit your balance sheet liquidity, covenant headroom and existing credit lines; consult your banking partner about rights-backed lending options.

During negotiation

Open with a hybrid term sheet: present a clear MG + rev-share) offer to anchor expectations.
Ask for seller data: request historical audience curves, digital engagement metrics and sponsor retention rates to calibrate thresholds.
Propose performance-based fees: link a meaningful tranche of payment to agreed KPIs (viewership, minutes watched, ad CPM).
Insist on breakpoints: include unilateral buyer opt-outs at defined revenue/cost triggers with fair buyout terms.
Negotiate governance: set up joint steering committees for content delivery, data sharing and commercial decisions during the rights period.

Contract clauses to include or revise

Schedule-change clause: compensation formula if dates shift or cycle frequency changes (critical with AFCON’s move to four-year cycles).
Format-change clause: rights and payments if tournament size or format changes (team count, match length).
Data & IP rights: ownership of match data, highlights, and rebroadcast windows for commercialization.
Sub-licensing and sublicensing revenue share: buyer rights to resell non-exclusive segments and a clear split of proceeds.
Audit and reconciliation: quarterly reconciliations, access to analytics and single source of truth for disputes — pair this with robust file management practices for media assets.
Force majeure & extraordinary governance: beyond standard FM — include pandemic, geopolitical disruptions and broadcaster insolvency triggers.

Financing and consumer-finance considerations

In 2026, the cost of capital matters. Rights purchases should be structured with an eye to how they affect credit lines, interest expense and working capital ratios.

Leverage rights for liquidity

Rights-backed lending: use anticipated shelf revenue (fixed MG + conservative rev-share) as collateral for term loans or revolvers.
Securitize long-window revenues: pool rights income and issue notes to investors seeking predictable cash flows tied to sport cycles.
Use pre-sales and sponsor financing: secure advance sponsor payments and tie them to payment schedules to reduce bank reliance.

Protect margins from higher rates

Negotiate payment deferrals with interest pass-through or caps. If you use deferred payment facilities, consider hedging interest exposure or structuring a floating-to-fixed swap with your bank.

How media consolidation alters bargaining power—and how to respond

Consolidation presents two competing pressures:

Content consolidation (fewer sellers): large producers can demand higher fees for scarce assets. Expect more aggressive minimum guarantees.
Buyer consolidation (fewer broadcasters/platforms): large distributors can push for better economics, pooled rights and exclusivity packages.

Negotiation response framework

Segment value: don't treat all rights as monolithic. Unbundle rights to create competition for pieces (digital, language, sub-licenses).
Form strategic alliances: co-invest with peers for marquee rights to gain scale while sharing risk and revenue.
Use competitive tension: create auction dynamics by inviting non-traditional buyers (telcos, streaming platforms) for pieces of the package — use targeted pitch templates when approaching new entrants.

Case study: Hypothetical renegotiation for AFCON 2028

We simulated a mid-sized broadcaster with a regional footprint renegotiating AFCON rights for the 2028 cycle. Key moves that preserved liquidity and upside:

Reduced upfront MG by 35% and added a 45/55 revenue split (seller/buyer) after an initial audience threshold — improved cash flow and motivated seller to help maximize OTT distribution.
Carved out non-exclusive VOD rights for 30 days post-match, enabling the broadcaster to sell FAST/AVOD packages and increase incremental revenue by 12% in the model.
Secured a bank term loan against the guaranteed portion and negotiated a sponsor pre-payment that covered the first two instalments, lowering short-term borrowing needs.
Inserted a schedule-change clause that reduced MG by 20% if the tournament moved more than 4 months from the scheduled window — critical protection given CAF governance concerns in Dec 2025.

Quick-template: Negotiation checklist for rights teams

Run five-scenario cash-flow model.
Prepare hybrid MG + rev-share offer.
Insist on unified measurement and audit rights.
Include schedule/format-change protections and insurance obligations.
Seek partitioned rights and sub-licensing flexibility.
Lock in arbitration and fast dispute-resolution mechanics.
Coordinate with finance to align bank covenants and hedging strategies.

Practical negotiation language — short examples

Below are concise clause starters you can propose in term sheets.

Schedule Change: If the Tournament dates are moved by more than 120 days, Buyer may elect to: (i) reduce the Minimum Guarantee by 20%, or (ii) extend the exclusive window by a mutually agreed period; Seller shall provide a performance bond covering 15% of the MG.

Revenue Share Trigger: After cumulative ad revenue exceeds USD X, revenue share shall adjust from 40/60 to 55/45 in favour of Seller for incremental amounts.

Final checklist before signing

Confirm measurement providers and data access protocols.
Secure insurance quotes and confirm exclusions.
Validate financing sources — confirm bank approval-in-principle if you plan to use rights as collateral.
Perform legal review for termination rights, exclusivity territory carve-outs and compliance with local regulations (broadcast, antitrust).
Set governance cadence: weekly ops calls during tournament windows, quarterly commercial reviews otherwise.

Key takeaways for media buyers and broadcasters

AFCON’s move to a four-year cycle and 2026 consolidation trends require a different playbook: fewer events raise the stakes and volatility — so move from all-upfronts to hybrid, performance-linked deals.
Risk-sharing is not charity: performance bonds, insurance and revenue-share structures protect both sides and unlock sustainable pricing.
Unbundle rights to create liquidity: carve-outs and sublicensing increase optionality and reduce monopoly pricing power.
Align measurement and governance: without a single source of truth, disputes will erode value post-deal.

Where to go next

Renegotiation is a strategic exercise as much as a legal one. Start with a two-week sprint: build the five-scenario model, draft a hybrid term sheet, and get bank feedback on rights-backed financing. Use the negotiation checklist above as your playbook.

Call to action: Subscribe to paisa.news for weekly briefings on sports-media deals, or download our Rights-Renegotiation Toolkit: AFCON 2028 checklist to share with your legal and finance teams. If you want a tailored negotiation term sheet or a quick rights-backed financing assessment, contact our media finance desk to schedule a consult.

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Senior editor and content strategist. Writing about technology, design, and the future of digital media. Follow along for deep dives into the industry's moving parts.