The Champions League final will not be shown on free-to-air TV for the first time in the competition’s history, which means fans will have to pay if they want to watch Arsenal take on Paris Saint-Germain.
TNT Sports, the rights holders of the competition in the United Kingdom, are understood to have left UEFA seething with their decision to charge viewers to watch the game, which will take place on May 30 in Budapest, Hungary.
English clubs are chasing a clean sweep of titles in Europe, with Aston Villa taking on Freiburg of Germany in the Europa League final and Crystal Palace to face Rayo Vallecano in the Conference League.
Viewers will have to pay to watch any of the games – the first match, the Europa League final, will take place on Wednesday in Istanbul, Turkey.
The Warner Bros Discovery-owned (WBD) channel, which has made the finals free to view in previous years, has not done so this year.
TNT Sports has chosen to restrict access to its streaming platform, HBO Max. The cheapest subscription costs £4.99, while a month’s subscription is £31.99.
Viewers will have to pay to watch the Champions League final for the firs time ever this season
Arsenal will take on Paris Saint-Germain in Budapest, Hungary, at the end of the month
It’s the next step in the final being moved to pay-to-view TV, with BT Sport, TNT Sports’ former name, picking up the UEFA rights in the 2015-16 season.
Prior to that year, the Champions League final had been free to view on ITV, which had exclusive rights since the competition’s launch in 1992. That ran until 2003, then the channel shared the rights with Sky Sports until 2015.
According to The Guardian, UEFA have been left livid with the decision, with sources arguing the decision breaks spirit of a contract that says ‘best endeavours’ should be made to ensure finals are free.
Arsenal are looking to win the Champions League for the first time in their history, but are up against it with Mikel Arteta’s men taking on a PSG side bidding to defend their title.
Villa and Palace are both favourites, meanwhile. The Conference League game is booked in for May 27 in Leipzig, Germany.
