ITV is reportedly in discussions with BT in a bid to return live coverage of the Champions League back to terrestrial television.
The Sunday Times reports ITV Dame Carolyn McCall wants to persuade her opposite number to part with some of the matches from his exclusive property that involve English clubs.
In November, the telco secured all the available rights packages to the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League and UEFA Europa Conference League until 2024 in a bid worth a total of £1.2 billion to the sports body.
BT’s clean sweep came despite UEFA breaking the competition down into smaller lots – with BT upping its spend to secure them.
While BT could sub-license some of the matches it has to balance that against reducing the value to its BT Sport channel – football fans can also enjoy the Saturday lunchtime kick off from the Premier League, but it has lost the rights to the FA Cup from 2021 when the BBC and ITV will share coverage.
