TNT Sports Puts 2026 Champions League Final Behind £4.99 Paywall, Ending 34-Year Free-to-Air Run
Updated
Updated · BBC.com · May 29
TNT Sports Puts 2026 Champions League Final Behind £4.99 Paywall, Ending 34-Year Free-to-Air Run
3 articles · Updated · BBC.com · May 29
Saturday’s Arsenal-PSG final in Budapest will be the first Champions League final since 1992 that UK fans must pay to watch, with TNT Sports refusing to make it free to air.
£4.99 is the cheapest one-month HBO Max option for access, after Warner Bros Discovery ended the previous free streaming route that had survived even after BT Sport’s 2023 rebrand to TNT Sports.
Keir Starmer, the Football Supporters’ Association and other fan groups pressed TNT to reverse course, while BBC Sport understands UEFA was also disappointed but left the decision to the rights holder.
The shift follows years of free UK broadcasts on ITV or the BBC and comes after the government rejected in 2020 a proposal to protect the final as a listed 'crown jewels' event.
TNT will lose European rights from 2027-28, with Paramount+ taking the Champions League and Sky Sports picking up the Europa League and Conference League.
As streamers buy up sports rights, is the era of watching major finals for free over for good?
Will this paywall gamble boost subscriptions or just alienate a generation of football fans?