Amazon Prime have secured a major deal that will allow them to share UEFA Champions League coverage with current providers BT Sport.
Live television coverage of the continental club competitions has switched hands at different rates over the years. There was a time when ITV were in sole charge, then Sky Sports gradually took a foothold until 2015, when the Champions League found it's current home on BT Sport.
It has remained on those channels for almost eight years, however a change destined for next year could potentially impact Manchester City and Manchester United fans seeking to watch their teams in European competition.
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From the start of the 2024/25 campaign, the streaming service will take control of broadcasting Tuesday night's matches in the competition through to the semi-final stage, which will mean around 20 games in total across the season switching hands. The Europa League and Europa Conference League will not be impacted, as coverage of those matches will remain where they are.
Whether that will change in future can only be seen, but for now Prime can now add the Champions League to its growing sports portfolio. In recent years they have been the home of a limited number of Premier League fixtures per season and tennis competitions such as the US Open and ATP Tour.
Upon winning the rights, Amazon's MD of Prime Video Sport Europe, Alex Greene, said: “Since 2018, we’ve seen millions of Prime members in the UK enjoy live sport on Prime Video, and it’s that passion and energy that has led us to this exciting next step.
“We can’t wait to bring fans the headline fixture of European football’s most prestigious competition every Tuesday and we’ll have more details to share about our broadcast in the future.”
Additionally the BBC benefitted from the deal, and will help bring the Champions League back to freeview TV for the first time in nine years when they begin to host a Wednesday night highlights show as of 2024/25.
“The UEFA Champions League is a wonderful addition to our portfolio of football output on the BBC and we can’t wait to get started in 2024,” said BBC Director of Sport Barbara Slater.
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