Premier Sports and RTÉ have retained their Champions League broadcast rights in the Republic of Ireland to 2031.
Uefa recently auctioned Champions League broadcast packages for 19 television markets, including the Republic of Ireland, covering the 2027-2031 seasons.
Premier Sports will retain first-choice live rights for Tuesday night Champions League fixtures, in addition to highlights. RTÉ will have first-choice rights for Wednesday night matches and highlights, and the two broadcasters will have co-exclusive rights to the Champions League final each season of the four-year deal.
Sky will have co-exclusive rights to all remaining Champions League fixtures, and have also secured exclusive rights to Europa League and Conference League matches, which were previously held by Virgin Media and Premier Sports.
The 18 television markets included in the auction, in addition the Republic of Ireland, were: Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Central America, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Mexico, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, South America, Sweden, and Switzerland.
Disney+ secured the rights in a number of markets having last year acquired the rights for both the Women’s Champions League and La Liga.
The US streaming company was confirmed as the preferred bidder for various packages in Sweden, Denmark, Mexico, Brazil, Central America and South America, including exclusive broadcast rights for all Uefa men’s club competitions in Sweden, and exclusive Europa League and Conference League rights in Denmark.
An auction was held last year for the five largest European television markets – the UK, France, Spain, Italy and Germany – in which Paramount outbid TNT Sports to secure the UK rights.
Through that process, Amazon have co-exclusive rights to the Champions League Tuesday first-pick package in the Republic of Ireland, while Paramount have co-exclusive rights to Wednesday first-picks.
Commenting on Premier Sports securing the Irish rights, chief executive Ryle Nugent said: “We are delighted to secure a four-year extension of our Uefa Champions League rights, ensuring Premier Sports remains the destination for Irish football fans.
“Our first-choice Tuesday night fixtures have become an essential ‘appointment to view’ for fans, and we look forward to elevating our coverage even further as we bring the drama and prestige of this competition to our audiences through to 2031.” – Additional reporting from the Guardian
