Football fans have been left disappointed by this broadcast decision for the Champions League final.
The Champions League final has been available to watch for free in the UK ever since the competition’s modern rebrand 34 years ago
However, that won’t be the case when Arsenal face PSG in Budapest in 12 days time.
This season’s Champions League final on 30 May 2026 will only be available in the UK if you pay for it.
The Guardian report that their information is that UEFA are far from happy that TNT Sports have made this decision.
Indeed, holding the UK rights currently to all three UEFA competitions, TNT Sports are doing the same with the Europa League final and Conference League final.
All three finals of course have English teams set to play in them.
So you will have to pay to watch Aston Villa take on Freiburg this Wednesday (20 May), then the same when Crystal Palace play Rayo Vallecano on Wednesday 27 May.
The Guardian report: ‘TNT Sports holds the UK live rights for all three competitions, but in a departure from previous seasons the Warner Bros Discovery-owned (WBD) channel has not made the finals available free of charge. Since its predecessor, BT Sport, first acquired Uefa rights in the 2015-16 season the finals of the Champions League and Europa League have been streamed live for free, but TNT Sports has opted to restrict access to customers and subscribers to its streaming platform, HBO Max.’
Champions League finals had been screened live on ITV, which had exclusive rights from the competition’s launch, as the rebranded European Cup, in 1992 until 2003, then joint rights with Sky Sports until 2015. Before then BT Sport took over.
The Guardian going on to say: ‘TNT Sport’s decision is understood to have been the source of some angst at Uefa, with sources saying it breaks the spirit of a contract that states “best endeavours” should be made to ensure the finals are available for free. BT Sport/TNT Sport added the new Conference League to its rights five years ago, but will lose all three competitions from the 2027-28 season, having been outbid by Paramount for the Champions League and by Sky Sports for the other two in Uefa’s media rights auction last year.’