Where to Watch the Champions League
The Champions League is sold country by country, and the answer changes far more than the competition does. In one market a single subscription covers everything. In the next it is split between a pay-TV channel and a streaming service that takes one match a week and keeps it exclusive. In a third the final is free on national television and nothing else is.
The table below covers the markets we have confirmed for 2026-27. It is a season worth checking rather than assuming: most of these deals expire in May 2027, and in several countries the broadcaster changes after that.
Confirmed rights holders
| Country | Shown by | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom and Ireland | TNT Sports, Amazon Prime Video, BBC | TNT Sports carries the bulk of the competition on its channels and through HBO Max. Amazon Prime Video holds one exclusive first-pick Tuesday match. The BBC has free highlights but no live matches. This is the last season of the arrangement: Paramount+ takes the main package from 2027-28. |
| United States | Paramount+, CBS, ViX, TUDN | Every match streams on Paramount+, with selected fixtures on the CBS network and CBS Sports Network. In Spanish the competition is on TelevisaUnivision's ViX, TUDN, Univision and UniMás, with part of the streaming package sublicensed to DAZN. The final is free over the air on both CBS and Univision. |
| Germany | DAZN, Amazon Prime Video | DAZN shows the large majority, including every Wednesday fixture and most of the knockout rounds. Amazon Prime Video keeps the first-pick Tuesday match and it is not available anywhere else. |
| Spain | Movistar Plus+, RTVE | Movistar holds the competition exclusively under a deal that runs to the end of this season. RTVE shows the final free to air, also through 2026-27. |
| Italy | Sky Sport, NOW, Amazon Prime Video, TV8 | Sky carries the large majority including the final, on satellite and through NOW. Amazon Prime Video has 18 exclusive Wednesday matches a season. TV8 shows some fixtures free to air, but never one involving an Italian club. |
| France | Canal+ | Canal+ holds the French pay-TV rights across the competition, under a deal that ends with this season. |
| Canada | DAZN | Every match, exclusively, with commentary in both English and French. The deal runs to the end of 2026-27. |
| Australia | Stan Sport | Every match live on subscription, with no free-to-air coverage. |
Checked against published sources in August 2026. Where sources disagreed the market is left out rather than guessed at. The competition's own list is at UEFA broadcast partners and stays current in a way a hand-kept table does not.
The last season before the broadcasters change
Most of the deals in the table expire in May 2027, and UEFA has already sold the cycle that follows. If you are choosing a subscription for this season, it is worth knowing the answer will not hold for the next one.
Britain is the clearest case. TNT Sports has the main package for the last time this season; from 2027-28 it moves to Paramount+, with Amazon Prime Video keeping its Tuesday pick and the BBC keeping highlights. Spain, France and Germany are on deals with the same end date, and UEFA has confirmed holders for 2027-31 across a long list of markets.
The practical consequence is narrow but real. An annual subscription taken out this autumn to follow the Champions League can outlive the rights it was bought for. In any market where the holder is about to change, a monthly plan is the safer shape.
How to watch the Champions League live
In most countries one subscription is not enough. UEFA sells the competition in packages rather than whole, so a market typically has a main holder with the bulk of the fixtures and a second service with a small exclusive pick. Germany is the clearest example: DAZN has almost everything, but the best Tuesday match is on Amazon Prime Video and nowhere else. Britain and Italy are built the same way.
Where one service does hold everything it is usually a streaming platform rather than a broadcaster. Canada and Australia are each covered end to end by a single subscription, and the United States comes close: every match is on Paramount+, with the network showings on top of that rather than instead of it.
Kick-off times on this site convert to your own timezone, so the fixture list tells you when and the table above tells you where.
Can you watch the Champions League free?
In some countries, and in fewer than a year ago. Spain keeps the final free to air on RTVE for this season. In the United States the final is on CBS and Univision without a subscription. Italy's TV8 carries a handful of matches free, though never one involving an Italian club, which stay behind the Sky paywall.
Britain is the market that changed. The May 2026 final between Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain was the first Champions League final since 1992-93 not shown free to air in the United Kingdom: TNT Sports kept it exclusive to its channel and to HBO Max. UEFA's contracts ask broadcasters to use best endeavours to put finals on free television, which is not the same as requiring it.
Highlights are a separate question and are usually free. The BBC runs them in Britain without a subscription, and most markets have an equivalent.
When Champions League matches kick off
Two slots a night, and they are not evenly loaded. Of the 144 league phase matches, 30 are in the early slot and 114 in the late one, so the bulk of the competition starts at the same moment across a continent.
The local time in Europe holds all season: 18:45 and 21:00 in Munich or Madrid, 17:45 and 20:00 in London, first round to last. What moves is the offset. Europe puts its clocks back at the end of October, so the late kick-off is 19:00 UTC for the first three rounds and 20:00 UTC from the fourth onwards. That shift is invisible in Europe and very visible everywhere else, and doubly so where local clocks change on a different date.
Every time on this site is converted to the timezone of the device you are reading on, so the fixture list has already done that arithmetic.
What changes when the knockout rounds start
The league phase is eight rounds of eighteen matches, spread across Tuesday and Wednesday, and across Thursday as well in the opening round. From February the shape changes: ties are two-legged and fewer matches share a night, which is when an exclusive pick is most likely to be the match you wanted.
The eighth round is the exception in the other direction. All eighteen matches kick off together on 27 January, so no broadcaster anywhere can show you all of them live. Whichever service you are on, that is the night to have the table open alongside.
Watching through a betting operator
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Several betting operators stream live matches to account holders. The account is free and no deposit is needed to watch, but it does have to exist: the stream will not play until you are signed in. Operators can only carry what they hold rights to in your country, so the available fixtures vary by where you are and some markets have none.
Questions
What channel is the Champions League on?
It depends entirely on where you are, because UEFA sells the competition market by market. In the United Kingdom it is mostly TNT Sports with one Tuesday match on Amazon Prime Video; in the United States every match is on Paramount+; in Germany it is DAZN with a Tuesday pick on Prime Video. The table above lists the markets we have confirmed for 2026-27.
Can I watch the Champions League for free?
Rarely, and it is usually the final rather than the league phase. Spain has the final free to air on RTVE this season and the United States has it on CBS and Univision. Italy's TV8 shows some matches free but never one with an Italian club. In the United Kingdom the 2026 final was the first since 1992-93 not shown free to air at all.
Do I need more than one subscription to watch every match?
In the United Kingdom, Germany and Italy, yes. Each of those markets has a main holder plus a second service with an exclusive midweek pick that appears nowhere else. In Canada, Australia and the United States a single subscription covers the competition.
Is the Champions League final free to air?
It depends on the country and it is no longer a given. UEFA asks broadcasters to use best endeavours to show finals on free television but does not require it, and in May 2026 TNT Sports kept the final behind its paywall in the United Kingdom for the first time in the competition's modern history. Spain and the United States still have it free.
Where can I watch the Champions League in the United States?
Every match streams on Paramount+, with selected fixtures on the CBS network and CBS Sports Network, and the final free over the air on CBS. Spanish-language coverage is on TelevisaUnivision through ViX, TUDN, Univision and UniMás, with part of the streaming package sublicensed to DAZN.
Why can no one show every match on the last matchday?
Because all eighteen fixtures of the eighth round kick off at the same time, on 27 January. That is deliberate: by the final round a single goal can move a club across the top-eight line or out of the competition, so no club can gain from knowing another result first.