Sky Sports to Broadcast Major Competition For First Time in 10 Years
Sky Sports will be the exclusive UK broadcaster for two of Europe's biggest club competitions from 2027 until 2031.
It has been a busy week for broadcasting changes in football, with American media giant Paramount securing the rights to show the majority of Champions League games in the UK from 2027 to 2031.
Paramount, who have enjoyed huge success in the United States with their UCL coverage on CBS Sports, made the largest bid at auction, believed to be 'considerably higher' than the £1 billion that TNT Sports currently pays.
It has been described as a "major shake-up" of the domestic rights market. In fact, the deal will see Paramount broadcast every Champions League game, except for the first pick of Tuesday night matches, according to The Guardian
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Those previously mentioned first-pick rights were auctioned separately across the five major European markets for the first time. Amazon Prime are believed to have won them.
As a result of Paramount securing the rights to Champions League football, UK-based fans 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.
Sky Sports to broadcast European action for first time in 10 years
Sky Sports, meanwhile, have announced a new four-year partnership with UEFA to exclusively broadcast every match from the Europa League and Conference League in the UK from 2027-28.
Since the end of the 2014-15 campaign, Sky have not broadcast any European games after losing the Champions League rights to BT Sport, now known as TNT Sports.
But from 2027 to 2031, all 342 games across the Europa League and Conference League will be shown across their channels in the UK.
Jonathan Licht, who is Sky's chief sports officer, said: “I’m proud that we’re able to bring European football competitions back to Sky customers."
He continued: "The UEFA Europa League and Conference League have delivered some of the most exciting European stories in recent years, with English clubs consistently performing strongly and lifting trophies.
“This partnership is made possible by the strength of our business model and brand as the home of sport in the UK," added Licht. "Alongside the Premier League, EFL, SPFL, WSL and more, fans will now regularly enjoy domestic or European football every day of the week during the season on Sky Sports.”
Topics: Sky Sports, Europa League, Europa Conference League, Football
Jack Kenmare