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The Champions League final will not be shown on free-to-air TV for the first time in the competition’s history, which means fans will have to pay if they want to watch Arsenal take on Paris Saint-Germain.
TNT Sports, the rights holders of the competition in the United Kingdom, are understood to have left UEFA frustrated with their decision to charge viewers to watch the game, which will take place on May 30 in Budapest, Hungary.
Instead, they will charge fans to watch all three European finals – each of which involves an English club.
English clubs are chasing a clean sweep of titles in Europe, with Aston Villa taking on Freiburg of Germany in the Europa League final and Crystal Palace to face Rayo Vallecano in the Conference League.
Viewers will have to pay to watch any of the games – the first match, the Europa League final, will take place on Wednesday in Istanbul, Turkey.
Previously, TNT Sports – formerly BT Sport – have made the finals free of charge since it first acquired rights in 2015-16. ITV had previously shown the final since the competition’s rebrand in 1992.
However, this year access has been restricted to customers who pay £31.99 a month and subscribers to HBO Max, which comes in at £4.99 a month.
Now TV currently has a subscription deal, that includes HBO Max at just £2.99 per month
You can also stream HBO Max with an Amazon Prime account for £5.99 per month.
The Champions League Final is not one of the protected ‘crown jewels’, which government stipulate must be shown for free.
TNT announced the move and added that Laura Woods would present the Champions League Final, with Steven Gerrard, Darren Fletcher and Ally McCoist.
There is better news if you’re a BT customer too as the broadband provider offers TNT subscription as part of their HBO Max package.
New Sky customers can take advantage of their latest TNT Sports pack to watch the Champions League. For existing customers, TNT sports will have moved from the discovery+ app to HBO Max
Viewers will have to pay to watch the Champions League final for the firs time ever this season
Arsenal will take on Paris Saint-Germain in Budapest, Hungary, at the end of the month
It’s the next step in the final being moved to pay-to-view TV, with BT Sport, TNT Sports’ former name, picking up the UEFA rights in the 2015-16 season.
Prior to that year, the Champions League final had been free to view on ITV, which had exclusive rights since the competition’s launch in 1992. That ran until 2003, then the channel shared the rights with Sky Sports until 2015.
UEFA have been left frustrated with the decision, with sources arguing the decision breaks spirit of a contract that says ‘best endeavours’ should be made to ensure finals are free.
Arsenal are looking to win the Champions League for the first time in their history, but are up against it with Mikel Arteta’s men taking on a PSG side bidding to defend their title.
Villa and Palace are both favourites, meanwhile. The Conference League game is booked in for May 27 in Leipzig, Germany.
