US media giant Paramount will pay $1.5 billion for the rights to broadcast the Champions League in the US. US media reported that the company trumped Amazon with the offer.

The rights are valid for the next six years. The costs of broadcasting football victories of major European clubs are about 250 million dollars a year.

Under the previous deal, Paramount paid $100 million a year. The sharply increased costs reflect the growing popularity of European football on the other side of the Atlantic. For example, in May, 2.8 million Americans watched Real Madrid T Champions League Final Won from Liverpool.

That still dwarfs American soccer. This year, about 100 million people, mostly Americans, watched the most important American football game, the Super Bowl.

The popularity was already evident late last year when rival Comcast Corporation paid $2.5 billion for the broadcasting rights to the English Premier League.

The Dutch Eredivisie can count on less interest from American media houses. ESPN held the U.S. rights until last season. But the American sports media company told viewers over the weekend that it would not renew its contract for this season Twitter.