Paramount set to win Champions League broadcast rights in UK and Ireland

Paramount is set to win the rights to broadcast the majority of Champions League matches in the UK and Republic of Ireland.

Sources briefed on the bidding process indicate that the streaming giant, which already owns the rights to broadcast Europe’s premier men’s club competition in the United States, is the preferred option for the next broadcast cycle, from 2027 to 2031, with an official announcement to follow.

The American company’s long-awaited victory, at the expense of current UK rights owner TNT Sports, comes after a new bidding process designed to attract a global streaming platform to the negotiating table.

Paramount will also win the rights to most games in Germany, and Amazon Prime Video will keep first-choice Champions League games on Tuesdays in the UK and Ireland. In Germany and Italy, that first-choice game is likely to be moved to Wednesdays.

Paramount declined to comment when approached.

UC3, the joint venture between UEFA and European football clubs, the new name of the European Club Association, announced the start of the bidding process in Europe’s five largest markets (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom and Ireland) on 13 October.

It is the first rights cycle led by US agency Relevent, which replaced UEFA’s long-term global sales partner TEAM Marketing in 2024, with the European governing body and major clubs looking to surpass the €5bn (£4.3bn; $5.8bn) mark in terms of annual media revenue from the continent’s club competitions.

This story will be updated.