The UEFA Champions League can be seen on free-TV again in Austria from the 2021/22 season.
Commercial broadcaster Servus TV secured the broadcasting rights to a total of 33 matches per year of the Champions League, the Europa League and the new Europa Conference League. The games will be shown on free-TV and as a live-stream at www.servustv.com.
The agreement with European football association UEFA runs for three years; financial details were not disclosed
“This is unique in Europe and we are delighted! The UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Europa League combined on one free-TV channel is only available on Servus TV. This is not only great news for us, but especially for all football fans in Austria. I’m looking forward to great football evenings at Servus TV,” said managing director Ferdinand Wegscheider (pictured).
The rights package includes matches from the group phase, top games from the knockout rounds and the finals of all three competitions. In the Champions League, Servus TV has first-choice rights for the Wednesday matches, and for the Europa League and the Europa Conference League, it has first-choice rights in every round.
All matches shown by Servus TV will be available on-demand on the channel’s catch-up service after the live broadcast.
Since the 2018/19 season, the Champions League has only been available on subscription platforms Sky and DAZN in Austria. In Germany, Amazon, DAZN and ZDF have secured the TV rights from 2021/22, leaving long-standing rights holder Sky empty-handed.