Paramount bid creates uncertainty over Champions League TV coverage in UK

The prospect of Paramount Global acquiring Warner Bros Discovery (WBD) has thrown the future of Champions League broadcasting in the United Kingdom into doubt, with Uefa set to play a decisive role in where Europe’s elite club competition will be shown once TNT Sports’ current deal ends after the 2025-26 campaign.

Paramount, which agreed a four-year UK rights package for the tournament from 2027-28 last November, is attempting a $110 billion takeover of WBD that faces regulatory scrutiny in the United States over fears the combined studios would command a 40 per cent share of the American film market. A ruling is expected before TNT Sports’ existing Champions League contract expires, leaving open the possibility that the merged entity could control two rival platforms in Britain: Paramount+ and the forthcoming HBO Max streaming service, which launches this month under the WBD umbrella and will house TNT Sports’ live matches.

The overlap presents Paramount with several strategic choices: maintain the status quo by keeping Champions League fixtures on TNT Sports, migrate coverage to its own Paramount+ outlet, or create a dedicated sports channel. Any move, however, must first be approved by Uefa, whose commercial regulations require the governing body to safeguard the competition’s reach across its territory. Sources close to the negotiations emphasise that maximising domestic audience figures will be Uefa’s overriding priority.

TNT Sports’ portfolio extends well beyond European football, holding 52 Premier League games per season until 2029, Premiership Rugby rights until 2031, both the Australian and French Open tennis grand slams, and the majority of England men’s cricket winter tours. The scale of those commitments adds further complexity to Paramount’s integration plans should the takeover proceed.

The UK deal, struck alongside parallel agreements in Germany, France, Italy and Spain, was among the first completed for the 2027-31 rights cycle. Amazon Prime Video retains a secondary package consisting of one live match from each match round. Commercial management of the Champions League is handled by UC3, a joint venture between Uefa and European Football Clubs, which is preparing to invite bids for rights across 19 additional territories this week.

With regulators yet to approve the megamerger and Uefa’s consent provisions looming, British viewers face an extended period of uncertainty over exactly where and how they will watch the Champions League beyond the current TNT Sports era.