The satellite broadcaster Sky has been awarded the television broadcast rights for football matches of Champions League, Europa League and Conference League from next season until 2027. The agreement with UEFA should be around 660 million euros. The matches will be broadcast exclusively on the broadcaster’s pay channels or via its streaming platform. None, however, will be broadcast free-to-air on TV8.
Mediaset was therefore completely excluded from the agreement, but Sky it won’t be the only option to see at least part of the new one Champions League which will start next year. Amazon Prime Video will still offer Wednesday’s “best game” for its subscribers.
Sky takes exclusive rights to the Champions League and European cups
Sky, the satellite broadcaster owned by the giant Comcast, has obtained from UEFA the concession of the rights to broadcast the matches of all European competitions in Italy from next season, until 2027. With one exception, the best match on Wednesday Champions League, Sky will therefore have exclusivity for these matches in our country. The agreement, according to what has been reported by some indiscretions, would be around 660 million euros.
There won’t be, according to what the Sun 24 Hours, no agreements with other broadcasters. Furthermore, the free-to-air television network linked to Sky, Tv8, it will not broadcast any live match, neither the Europa League nor the Conference League, much less the Champions League. Next year, the Italian teams that will participate in European competitions will be Inter, Milan, Juventus, Atalanta and Bologna in the Champions League, Roma and Lazio in the Europa League and Fiorentina in the Conference League.
From next year there will also be a clear change in format of the most important European competition. The Champions League will be played over 11 months, with a 36-team group with 8 matches for each team replacing the initial phase of the competition. The matches will be 47% more than the total of previous editions.
Mediaset excluded, Amazon Prime Video remains
As mentioned, Sky does not have any local agreements planned with other broadcasters to share part of the European matches. Mediaset, which had broadcast Champions League matches on its paid platform until the 2023-2024 season Infinity, often associating them with free-to-air events on the main channels, it remained completely excluded. An impossible prospect due to antitrust issues until last year, but after Sky resolved some conflicts with the competition authority, it has become reality.
However, Sky does not have the entirety of the matches Champions League under his control. In fact, one match per week has been confirmed, the best on Wednesday, the day on which many matches of the top European competition are traditionally played, for Amazon Prime Video. The streaming service of the online shopping giant will continue its experience in broadcasting football matches, which began a few seasons ago.
Sky also won the broadcast of the most followed foreign league in the world, the English Premier League, while the rights to the other main European club competitions remained with the company that held them last season, DAZN.
