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The 2026 Champions League final, with Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain facing off in Hungary, will be unavailable to watch for free for the first time ever.
The Champions League’s previous 10 finals have been broadcast for free via YouTube and the Discovery+ streaming service.
TNT Sports, previously BT Sport, have owned the rights to Europe’s most-anticipated game since the 2015/16 season, but why is it no longer free-to-air?
Broadcaster wants to drive HBO Max subscriptions
TNT Sports is owned by Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), and the broadcaster has opted to make the Champions League final exclusive to HBO Max and its pay-TV channel.
WBD are hoping to drive up subscriptions to their HBO Max streaming service following its launch in the UK, which is fuelled by various European results this season.
Three English teams will appear in the finals of all three UEFA European competitions: Arsenal vs PSG, Aston Villa vs Freiburg and Crystal Palace vs Raya Vallecano, in the Champions League, Europa League and Conference League respectively.
According to The Guardian, UEFA reportedly feel uneasy about the decision, given its contract with WBD states that “best endeavours” should be made for the final to be free-to-air.
Crucially, the broadcaster is under no legal obligation to ensure this – an ideal loophole that allows WBD to set the terms going forward for Europe's greatest ever competition.
Prior to the broadcaster’s owning of these rights, the Champions League final was free-to-air under the handling of ITV, between the years of 1993 and 2015.
ITV held the rights exclusively for part of that period before sharing them with Sky Sports, and prior to 1993, the BBC alternated coverage of the game with ITV.
This season is the penultimate year of UEFA’s partnership with WBD and TNT Sports, with Paramount+ and Amazon Prime gaining the rights for the 2027/28 season.
Paramount’s contract, which will contain the majority of Champions League games, will expire at the end of the 2030/31 season, before potentially returning to TNT Sports.
Paramount are in the process of acquiring WBD, meaning they’d unify their services with HBO Max in the UK, and only time will tell whether this latest precedent set by the broadcaster will continue for future Champions League final matches.
