BT must now share live coverage of Tuesday night games, but retains Wednesday’s live games, plus exclusive access to all Europa and Conference League games.
BT Sport will show the new format of the three European competitions from 2024, with 12 more teams, more matches than ever before, plus the introduction of an additional “knockout-playoff” round.
In each competition, 36 teams will play in a single league format, with those finishing 1-8 progressing to the Round of 16, teams placed 9-24 contesting the additional knockout round, and the bottom 12 teams exiting the competition and no longer dropping down into the UEL and UECL respectively, introducing more jeopardy and must-win knock out matches.
The expanded qualification system opens up the possibility of a fifth English team in the UCL and guarantees Scottish participation in the UCL and UEL.
Since 2015, BT Sport has had exclusive rights to all live Champions League games in the UK. It is currently the soleholder of highlights rights. From 2024, the BBC will show highlights on Wednesday nights free-to-air.
Marc Allera, Chief Executive of BT’s Consumer Division, said
“BT Sport continues to be the home of the UEFA Club Competitions until 2027 and we are extremely proud to have the privilege of twelve years of broadcasting one of the most exciting competitions in the world. It is fantastic news for our viewers that from 2024 we will be able to show more games than ever before live and exclusive on BT Sport.”
How much is this costing BT Sport?
The costs of the 2024-27 Champions League rights awarded to BT Sport is c. £305m per annum.
BT expects to pay a deposit of c.£61m in July 2022.
Following the move of BT Sport into the Joint Venture (JV) being created by BT Group plc and Warner Bros. Discovery, the JV will pay the rights costs of c. £305m per annum less the deposit.
The planned JV is subject to customary closing conditions, including CMA approval.