The race to secure lucrative television rights for UEFA Champions League football is one of most expensive battles in modern European football.
Within the UK broadcasting sphere, terrestrial coverage of the biggest club competition in Europe ended in 2015, as ITV lost its 23-season agreement as the sole provider.
ITV missing out against the relentless sprawl of Sky Sports, and later BT Sport, was viewed as a watershed moment in Champions League coverage in the UK.
However, after years of failed attempts to break the non-public hegemony, the BBC have announced a new agreement to screen post-match highlights from the start of 2024/25.
Meanwhile, live coverage of the competition will be split between BT Sport and Amazon, who have obtained the rights to some Tuesday matches.
The new agreement comes into effect from 2024.
Will the Champions League be on the BBC?
The BBC have confirmed a three-year contract, following long-standing talks, to screen highlights from Champions League matches on Wednesday nights.
#UCL on the BBC! 🤩
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) July 1, 2022
Men's Champions League highlights will be shown on the BBC for the first time EVER from 2024-25 season 🙌
The action will be shown on BBC TV, @BBCiPlayer, social media and online.
More 🔽 #BBCFootball
The agreement runs from the 2024/25 season and will include post-game packages from both game days (Tuesday and Wednesday) per week, as part of a brand new show.
The deal also includes the final, with details to be confirmed of those highlights.
Who has the Champions League rights in the UK right now?
BT Sport have owned the UK broadcast rights to Champions League games since 2015 after beating previous rights-holders Sky and ITV with a bid in 2015. Their deal was extended four years later for around £1.2 billion.
They have since added the UEFA Europa League and UEFA Europa Conference League to their portfolio alongside the UEFA Women's Champions League in recent seasons.
BT Sport's current contract runs until the end of the 2023/24 season, including all 420 games of the UEFA Champions League, Europa League and the new Europa Conference League.
From 2024/25, BT and Amazon will split live coverage in the UK. Amazon have agreed a deal to show 17 first-pick Tuesday matches. The remaining 184 games of the soon-to-be expanded Champions League will be shown on BT.
Who could present the BBC's Champions League show?
The BBC are expected to put plans in place for their 2024 coverage as soon as possible with speculation growing over who will lead the project.
Gary Lineker has become the iconic voice of Match of the Day, the Premier League highlights show, after replacing Des Lynam in 1999, and the former England international will be considered for the new show.
However, his role as BT Sport's lead Champions League presenter, since 2015, could create a conflict of interest.
Football Focus anchor Alex Scott is also leading candidate, alongside Jermaine Jenas, Jason Mohammad and Reshmin Chowdhury.
