Watching live football in the UK is becoming more and more fragmented. Long gone are the days where Sky Sports held the sole rights to the Premier League.
The battle for broadcast rights for not only the English top flight, but also the Champions League, is as fierce as ever.
Rather than one or two broadcasters showing games across both competitions, fans of the clubs competing in those face a mix of sport streaming platforms, highlight shows and the usual broadcasters in order to get their footballing fix.
Of course, while watching live football is ubiquitous, the costs are ever-increasing, pricing some supporters out of supporting their teams from the comfort of the sofa.
Premier League broadcasters
Sky paid £304million for the Premier League rights between 1992/93 to 1996/97. Fast forward nearly 30 years, and the latest deal is worth £6.7billion beginning with the 2025/26 campaign.
This is a staggering sum and Sky Sports is still the dominant broadcaster of the Premier League.
Last season, 128 matches were shown live on the platform, but this figure is jumping to 215 games for the current campaign.
Supporters also get the benefit of shows such as Monday Night Football and Super Sunday, which allow paying customers to feel like they are receiving value for money.
Sky Sports aren’t the sole proprietors of Premier League rights, however, as some matches are also shown on TNT Sports.
Formerly known as BT Sport, TNT now show a significant number of live matches per season which include Saturday lunch-time kick-offs and the occasional midweek game.
The BBC may not show live Premier League games, but with Match of the Day airing every Saturday and Sunday evening during the season, it remains crucial viewing to supporters.
Champions League broadcasters
While Sky Sports and TNT Sports hold the rights to broadcast live Premier League matches throughout the season, the Champions League is far more fragmented.
For deeper insight and analysis from Champions League experts, fans can explore the best betting odds and sites in which to place bets on the competition.
TNT Sports show plenty of live Champions League games throughout the campaign and is the home of the tournament in the UK.
Their complete coverage of the competition stretches from the qualifiers through the group stages and into the knockout rounds, meaning fans can watch every stage of the Champions League from August to May.
Elsewhere, Amazon Prime Video adds another way for supporters to catch up with live Champions League action.
Amazon tends to show a high-profile match on a Tuesday evening which allows those who aren’t willing to pay for a full TNT Sports subscription, the chance to watch several games in the competition.
Like the Premier League, the BBC also doesn’t show live matches in the Champions League. The broadcaster has, however, secured rights to show midweek highlights which are available to be viewed either on television or online.
As such, it gives those who are unwilling to splurge on either a TNT Sports or Amazon subscription an opportunity to catch up with all the action in Europe’s premier club competition.
Watching live football in the UK is evolving year-on-year. Fans are balancing expensive subscription services with free-to-air coverage in order to get their fix of both the Premier League and Champions League.
There are always ways to catch up on the biggest matches across both competitions, regardless of how much various packages cost.
written By Ross Kilvington
Image source freepik
