BT Sport will remain the exclusive UK broadcaster of all UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League football for the next three years. Following a competitive auction process, BT has secured the rights until the end of the 2020/21 season, including all live games, highlights and in-match clips of both competitions.
The price is GBP 394 million per year, up from GBP 299 million in the last tender. BT first acquired the rights in 2013 as an anchor for its sports channel and TV business. The sports content was offered free until recently in order to help grow the base of TV subscribers. The other main bidder in the Champions League auction was pay-TV broadcaster Sky.
In addition to broadcasts on its own channels and apps, BT said it plans to expand social media coverage of the highlights of matches and show both finals free on social media. BT streamed both finals last year on YouTube for the first time, taking the number of people who watched live coverage to more than 12 million. The company said it will also "seek to bring the best of the action to its large mobile customer base".
