For the first time since the Champions League's rebranding 34 years ago, the final will not be available free to watch in the UK. TNT Sports, the rights holder, has opted to charge fans for all three European finals, despite English clubs competing for a clean sweep of titles.
Aston Villa face Freiburg in the Europa League final on Wednesday, Crystal Palace meet Rayo Vallecano in the Conference League final seven days later, and Arsenal take on Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League final the following Saturday. TNT Sports holds the UK live rights for all three competitions but has not made the finals free, a departure from previous seasons.
Since BT Sport first acquired Uefa rights in 2015-16, the Champions League and Europa League finals were streamed free. TNT Sports has restricted access to subscribers of its streaming platform, HBO Max. New sign-ups can watch the finals, with the cheapest HBO Max subscription at £4.99, while TNT Sports costs £31.99 a month on most platforms.
Before BT Sport, Champions League finals were live on ITV from 1992 to 2003, then jointly with Sky Sports until 2015. TNT Sports' decision has reportedly irritated Uefa, with sources saying it breaks the spirit of a contract requiring 'best endeavours' to ensure free access to finals.
BT Sport/TNT Sports added the Conference League to its rights five years ago but will lose all three competitions from the 2027-28 season, having been outbid by Paramount for the Champions League and by Sky Sports for the other two. Previously, BT streamed finals on YouTube, and TNT Sports made them free via discovery+ since taking over, but that option ended with the launch of HBO Max in March.
