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.
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 boy 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.
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.
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.
Securing the Champions League is a major win for BT Sport and its new partners Warner Bros. Discovery.
Under plans announced in Februaty, 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.
from Broadband TV News https://ift.tt/5x31gbI
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