TNT Sports will no longer hold the rights to broadcast Champions League football from 2027, with Paramount+ reportedly winning a major bidding battle to take over coverage of Europes premier club competition. TNT, formerly BT Sport, has shown Champions League action since 2015 after striking a 897million deal in 2013 to wrest the rights away from Sky Sports. The channel has also covered the Europa League and later the UEFA Conference League. In 2022, TNT lost its exclusive grip on the Champions League when Amazon Prime secured the rights to one game per week. But from 2027 the broadcaster will lose the tournament completely, with multiple outlets reporting that Paramount+ has secured a six-year deal.
Sources told The Telegraph the US-owned streaming platform was a knockout bidder and paid a very large premium to beat TNT Sports. The current package of Champions League rights is valued at nearly 3billion per season. Paramount already owns CBS Sports, which broadcasts the Champions League in the United States with a presenting team led by Kate Abdo alongside Micah Richards, Thierry Henry and Jamie Carragher. The development is likely to mean fans will face yet another subscription cost on top of Sky Sports, TNT, DAZN and Amazon. Netflix and Disney+ were also said to have expressed interest, with Netflix buoyed by its reach after broadcasting Jake Paul vs Mike Tyson last year and agreeing to stream Paul vs Anthony Joshua this week. According to The Telegraph, Paramount plans to make selected matches available free-to-air via Channel 5, a subsidiary of the company, as part of its push to expand its sports portfolio. Paramount+ has recently acquired rights to UFC events as part of its wider investment strategy. TNT Sports still holds Premier League rights until 2029 and signed a new four-year FA Cup deal last year that ensures every third-round match outside the 3pm blackout will be shown live.
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