BT Sport has secured the bulk of matches in the expanded Champions League after a successful bid that will also see Amazon broadcast some live matches.
BT has previously held exclusive rights to the European club competition.
The BBC has also bid for a highlights package that will see a new midweek edition of Match of the Day. It will be the first time in 10 years that highlights have been available in the UK.
According to The Times, governing body Uefa will see an increase of 15% in rights revenue from the UK market, taking its income from £1.2 billion on the existing three-year deal to 1.4 billion from 2024 to 2027.
BT will pay £305 million per year following an initial deposit of £61 million due this month.
Under the new Champions League format, the number of participating teams will increase from 32 to 36 teams. This means a total of 189 matches compared to the current 125. In each competition, 36 teams will play in a single league format, with those finishing 1-8 progressing to the Round of 16, teams placed 9-24 contesting the additional knockout round, and the bottom 12 teams exiting the competition and no longer dropping down into the UEL and UECL respectively, introducing more jeopardy and must-win knock out matches.
The expanded qualification system opens up the possibility of a fifth English team in the UCL and guarantees Scottish participation in the UCL and UEL.
Amazon, which already shows Champions League in Germany and Italy, will have the first pick on Tuesday night matches. It will screen 17 in all with the remainder being available on BT.
Marc Allera, Chief Executive of BT’s Consumer Division, said “BT Sport continues to be the home of the UEFA Club Competitions until 2027 and we are extremely proud to have the privilege of 12 years of broadcasting one of the most exciting competitions in the world. It is fantastic news for our viewers that from 2024 we will be able to show more games than ever before live and exclusive on BT Sport.”
Securing the Champions League is a major win for BT Sport and its new partners Warner Bros. Discovery.
Under plans announced in February, the new business would be a 50/50 joint venture, bringing together BT Sport with Eurosport UK. The combination would remain committed to retaining BT Sport’s existing major sports broadcast rights, while BT Sport customers would get access to Discovery’s sport and entertainment content, including the discovery+ app.
Formal confirmation of the deal is expected on Friday.
