The broadcasting landscape for the Champions League in the UK is set for a major transformation come 2027. Paramount+ has successfully secured the majority of broadcasting rights with a historic offer, signaling a new era for football coverage in the region.

In this significant reshuffle, matches from the Europa League and the Conference League will find a new home on Sky Sports, while the BBC is expected to maintain its role in delivering Champions League highlights to viewers.

Amazon Prime will continue to hold its exclusive rights to the first pick of Tuesday evening matches in Europe’s premier club competition. Paramount+ will take the lead on Wednesday nights and exclusively broadcast the final, marking its strong entry into the UK market.

This development spells disappointment for TNT Sports, previously known as BT Sport, which has been the dominant broadcaster of the Champions League in the UK since the 2015-16 season. Despite this setback, TNT Sports will continue airing Premier League and FA Cup games until 2029.

In an interesting twist, Paramount, which owns Channel 5 in the UK, is anticipated to make a bid for Warner Bros Discovery, the parent company of TNT Sports, hinting at further strategic moves in the broadcasting domain.

Paramount currently hold the rights to show Champions League matches in the United States but they are set to take over as the main broadcaster in the UK from 2027 onwards

TNT Sports have lost their Champions League rights from 2027 along with those for the Europa League and Conference League

Originally, TNT Sports had replaced Sky and ITV in 2013 with a groundbreaking deal, but now finds itself overtaken in the realm of European club competitions.

Elsewhere, Sky Sports’ success means European action will be shown on the channel for the first time since 2015.

In a statement, the broadcaster said: ‘From 2027/28, EVERY match from the UEFA Europa League and UEFA Conference League will be live, only on Sky Sports!

‘More football. More drama. Every day of the week.’

Jonathan Licht, Sky Sports’ Chief Sports Officer, added: ‘I’m proud that we’re able to bring European football competitions back to Sky customers.

‘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.

‘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.’

Amazon Prime will retain their rights to have the first pick of the Tuesday evening matches 

European football will now be shown on Sky Sports for the first time since the 2014-15 season

American owned platform Paramount, the owner of Paramount+ and CBS Sports, currently hold the rights for Champions League matches in the United States.

Coverage on CBS has proved widely popular, with presenter Kate Abdo and pundits Jamie Carragher, Thierry Henry and Micah Richards forming an established line-up on the network.

A move to Paramount though means viewers will be required to pay to watch matches on another network.

To be able to see all domestic and European football games from 2027, UK viewers will now have to spend £79.96-per-month on various subscriptions across Sky Sports (Premier League, League Cup, Europa League and Conference League, £34.99), TNT Sports (Premier League and FA Cup, £30.99), Amazon Prime (Champions League, £8.99) and Paramount+ (Champions League, £4.99). 

The bidding process for the rights was carried out by US firm Relevent. They were brought in in February to become the worldwide marketing sales partner for UC3 – the joint venture between UEFA and the European Football Clubs (EFC).

They have been tasked with overseeing deals from 2027-28 to 2032-33. 

The move marked the end of UEFA’s 30-year relationship with TEAM Marketing, a Swiss-based agency credited with helping the Champions League become a global powerhouse.

Currently, the gross revenue of all UEFA’s men’s competitions is around £3.84bn.