The Champions League has a new home on UK TV: What fans need to know

Robin Bairner

• 21 Nov 2025 11:13 GMT
• 4 min read

Feature

The Champions League will have a new home on UK TV as of 2027, with Paramount+ taking the rights from current broadcasters TNT Sports.

The US media giant has won the right to be the home of Europe’s top football competition from 2027 until 2031 in a sizeable shift in the media landscape.

BBC Sport reports that Paramount+ is set to play “well in excess” of £1 billion.

While the report goes on to indicate that sources say “the deal could be seen as good news for the Premier League given it adds another big broadcasting name to the football rights market”, for supporters, it is another major blow.

Fans wanting to watch elite-level games already face the prospect of paying for subscriptions for Sky Sports, TNT Sports and Amazon Prime, plus the possibility of additional fees to watch games on Premier Sports and Disney+, which is the home of the Women’s Champions League. The total cost of the three main packages arrives as £90 per month when a TV licence is also added into the mix.

Some relief for fans?

Currently, Paramount+ is available at £5 per month for the basic package, yet this is likely to rise when the Champions League begins to be shown on the channel.

There could be some positive news for supporters, though. Paramount own Channel 5, so there is the prospect that at least some Champions League matches could return to terrestrial television in the UK for the first time since 2015. This was when BT Sport became the broadcaster of the competition.

In addition, there is no guarantee that fans will need a new subscription to watch games. Paramount are currently in a bidding process to buy out Warner, who own TNT Sports. It’s therefore possible that if they win that auction, there will be no additional channel required. However, they face competition from Comcast and Netflix in that battle.

The cost of watching comprehensive coverage of top-level football in the UK has steadily risen since Sky’s investment in the Premier League in the early 90s. However, it has accelerated dramatically over the course of the last 20 years, since Setanta and ESPN started eating into the market in 2007.

BT Sport, though, was a game-changer. After snapping up a portion of Premier League rights in 2013, it took European football, including the Champions League, away from Sky Sports and ITV in 2015, marking a major upturn in subscription costs for fans.

What about the Europa League and Conference League?

Sky Sports has won the right to show the Europa League and Conference League between 2027 and 2031.

It has secured exclusive rights for the competition, which means it can show 342 matches per year.

A major boost for UEFA

For UEFA, the Paramount deal is a massive boost after a period of stalled broadcasting revenues.

TNT Sports’ current deal was worth £917 million when it was bought by BT Sports, but this was a 23% cut compared to the previous agreement, even with the additional Amazon Prime package taken into account.

UEFA targeted digital-first platforms to reflect the changing way in which fans are watching not only football, but consuming media in general.

As the BBC points out: “In landing the deal with Paramount, and extending the deal with Amazon for first pick games on a Tuesday night, the Champions League has now completely moved away from traditional rights partners.”

Although it has cornered the markets in the UK and Germany, Paramount has not been totally successful in its takeover bid for the Champions League, though. In France, Canal+ managed to edge competition from the American company to retain comprehensive coverage of the tournament, paying an undisclosed sum that is “slightly less” than its current deal.

What is Paramount+ and how do you subscribe?

Paramount+ is a streaming service that shows popular shows such as Yellowstone and Star Trek, while it is also the home of Comedy Central, where South Park can be found, as well as iconic brands MTV and Nickelodeon.

It comes free for Sky Cinema subscribers but can be subscribed to by anyone via its website, but also through Sky or Amazon Prime. There are various levels of packages ranging from £4.99 per month to £10.99 per month.

There is an app on Sky that allows it to be streamed directly to TV, but it can also be watched via an app in typical streaming methods.