TNT To Lose Champions League Football As ‘Major TV Shake-Up’ Announced
The Champions League looks set to move to a different UK broadcaster in a 'major shake-up' with TNT Sports reportedly set to lose the rights.
American media giant Paramount Skydance has reportedly won the rights to show the majority of Champions League matches between 2027 and 2031.
According to The Guardian, Paramount+ made the largest bid at this week's auction, in what the newspaper described as a "major shake-up of the domestic rights market."
Paramount is already familiar with showing Champions League football, with a subsidiary company currently holding the rights to matches in the United States.
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The Guardian claims that Paramount's bid was 'considerably higher' than the £1 billion that TNT currently pays.
Their deal will reportedly see them broadcast every Champions League game, except for the first pick of Tuesday night matches.
Those first-pick rights were auctioned separately across the five major European markets for the first time, with Amazon Prime believed to have won them.
Amazon already held the rights in England, Germany and Italy, but it is understood they beat other streaming services to secure the rights in Spain and France.
The tender process remains ongoing in other European markets, but Paramount has allegedly reached the second round of bidding in France, Spain and Italy.
It is a statement of intent from Paramount, which has invested heavily in films and entertainment, and recently acquired the rights to UFC.
The bidding process for the rights is being carried out by the agency Relevent Football.
The Times reports that the process has been "hugely complex" with bids for the five major European markets taking place simultaneously.
This means there are likely to be different broadcasters for different TV packages across Europe.
For British football fans, Paramount+ securing the rights to Champions League means they will need an additional subscription if they want to continue watching the Premier League, FA Cup and European football.
Sky Sports have the majority of Premier League games, while TNT Sports hold rights to all Saturday lunchtime kick-offs and two full rounds of midweek fixtures.
TNT Sports also broadcast FA Cup football, with those rights shared with the BBC.
But after the conclusion of next season, they will no longer show European football to UK viewers.
They have shown the Champions League and Europa League since the 2015-16 season.
While the Conference League has been exclusively on TNT Sports in the UK since its introduction in 2021.
European club football had previously been shown by both Sky and ITV.
Topics: Champions League, Football
James Taylor