Arsenal will face Champions League holders PSG in the final in Budapest on May 30th, but Mikel Arteta’s side are aiming for a double crown with the Premier League also in their sights.
Fans will not be able to watch the Champions League final against Arsenal for free (Image: John Walton/PA Wire)
TNT Sports has taken the unprecedented decision not to broadcast the Champions League final free-to-air in the UK. The broadcaster reportedly chose to charge fans to watch all three European finals, angering UEFA, despite the English club chasing an unbeaten title.
Arsenal will be aiming for an upset over holders Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League final in Budapest on May 30th. The Gunners are aiming to win Europe’s elite competition for the first time in their history.
Meanwhile, Aston Villa will face Freiburg in the Europa League final on Wednesday as they aim to win their first major trophy since 1996. Seven days later, Crystal Palace will face Rayo Vallecano in the Conference League final, aiming to win their first European trophy in the club’s history.
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However, the Guardian reports that none of these matches will be available for fans to watch on free-to-air television in the UK. It will be the first time since the modern rebranding of the Champions League 34 years ago that viewers in the UK will have to pay a subscription fee to watch the final.
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New subscribers over the next few days can watch the final for £4.99 on the cheapest HBO Max subscription, while TNT Sports costs £31.99 per month on most platforms.
The Champions League final was previously broadcast live on ITV, which had exclusive rights to the competition from its inception as the rebranded European Cup in 1992 until 2003, then joint rights with Sky Sports until 2015.
Aston Villa are one of the English teams chasing European glory (Image: AP)
BT Sport acquired the rights to UEFA from the 2015/16 season and streamed the European finals for free on YouTube.
The channel has since been rebranded as TNT Sports, and since taking over the deal two years ago, it has been available for free to customers who subscribe to sister streaming service Discovery+.
Sky Sports, HBO Max, Netflix, Disney+ and Ultimate TV packages
Sky has upgraded its Ultimate TV and Sky Sports bundles to include HBO Max, Netflix, Disney+, discovery+ and Hayu, plus 135 channels and complete coverage of the Premier League and EFL from Sky.
Sky has over 1,400 live matches across the Premier League, EFL and more, with at least 215 of them live from the top flight, along with F1, darts and golf.
However, since WBD launched HBO Max in the UK in March, TNT Sports is no longer available on discovery+. And from 2027, rights holders will change hands again, with Paramount signing a four-year deal to broadcast the games in the UK.
The channel’s decision not to broadcast the European final for free has reportedly caused some concern at UEFA. The Guardian reported that the move was contrary to the spirit of the agreement, which stipulates that “best efforts” should be made to make the final available for free viewing.
TNT Sports and WBD have been contacted for comment.
