UEFA Champions League: How to Watch in Every Country (2026)

The UEFA Champions League remains the pinnacle of European club football, captivating millions of fans across the globe with its showcase of elite talent and dramatic matches. As we move into the 2025/26 season, football enthusiasts worldwide are eager to know how they can catch all the action from Europe's most prestigious club competition. With broadcast rights distributed across numerous networks and streaming platforms internationally, this comprehensive guide will help you find exactly where to watch the Champions League in your country.

Understanding UEFA's Broadcasting Structure

UEFA operates on a strategic three-year broadcasting cycle, with the current rights period covering the 2024/25 through 2026/27 seasons. The organization sells media rights on a market-by-market basis, carefully balancing between free-to-air and pay television options in accordance with agreements with the European Union. This approach ensures that while premium broadcasters secure exclusive packages, some coverage remains accessible to wider audiences through free channels.

The competition's media rights cover not just the main Champions League tournament, but also the UEFA Youth League and related content. Rights packages are typically awarded through an Invitation to Submit Offer process, where qualified media distributors submit competitive bids for their respective territories. UEFA's marketing partner handles these negotiations, ensuring the competition reaches the maximum possible audience while maintaining premium value.

Europe: The Heart of Champions League Broadcasting

United Kingdom

For fans in the UK, the Champions League viewing landscape has undergone significant changes. TNT Sports holds the primary broadcasting rights through the 2026/27 season, offering comprehensive coverage of most matches. Amazon Prime Video maintains its position with exclusive Tuesday night first-pick matches, bringing top-tier games to its streaming platform. The BBC continues to provide highlights coverage, ensuring free-to-air access to key moments from each matchday.

Looking ahead to the 2027-31 cycle, reports indicate that Paramount+ has secured the main UK rights, marking a shift toward streaming-exclusive coverage. This transition reflects the broader industry trend away from traditional broadcast toward digital platforms.

Germany

German football fans can access Champions League action through multiple platforms. Paramount+ holds the Tuesday first-pick package, while Amazon Prime Video secures the coveted Wednesday first-pick matches. DAZN, once a primary rights holder, now focuses on the Europa League and Conference League competitions. Public broadcaster ZDF provides free-to-air highlights on Wednesday nights, ensuring broad accessibility.

Spain

Telefónica's Movistar+ maintains its stronghold on Spanish broadcasting rights, holding exclusive access to all Champions League matches through 2026/27. The comprehensive package, valued at approximately €1.46 billion, also includes the Europa League, Conference League, and UEFA Super Cup. Public broadcaster RTVE retains co-exclusive rights to broadcast the Champions League final, providing free access to Spanish viewers for the competition's climactic match.

France

Canal+ dominates French Champions League coverage, securing exclusive rights across all UEFA club competitions through 2027. This comprehensive deal gives French subscribers access to every match from the Champions League, Europa League, and Conference League. The arrangement provides Canal+ with valuable premium content, particularly important given the broadcaster's position in the French pay-TV market.

Italy

Sky Italia holds comprehensive rights to all three UEFA club competitions through the 2027-31 cycle, maintaining its position as the go-to destination for Italian football fans. The package ensures that Italian viewers have consistent access to European football's top competitions through a single platform.

Other European Markets

Across Europe, various broadcasters have secured regional rights. In Austria, Sky Österreich and Canal+ share coverage, with ServusTV providing some free-to-air access. Belgian viewers can access matches through Proximus Pickx, RTL, VOO, and Play Sports, depending on their region and language preference. The Netherlands relies on Ziggo Sport for Champions League coverage, while Portuguese fans turn to Sport TV for comprehensive match access.

Disney+ has notably acquired rights across multiple European territories, marking the entertainment giant's expansion into live sports broadcasting. In territories without established broadcast deals, UEFA.tv makes all matches available, ensuring no region goes without access to the competition.

North America: Growing Football Market

United States

CBS Sports holds exclusive English-language rights in the United States through the 2029/30 season, representing one of the longest-term agreements in Champions League broadcasting history. The coverage spans CBS's network television, CBS Sports Network, and the Paramount+ streaming platform. Most matches stream exclusively on Paramount+, though select marquee games appear on broadcast television.

Spanish-language coverage comes through TelevisaUnivision's networks, including Univision, UniMas, and TUDN, with rights extending through the 2026/27 season. DAZN also offers select Spanish-language matches through a sublicensing agreement, providing 38 exclusive matches per season plus shared coverage of the knockout rounds and final.

Canada

Canadian fans can watch all Champions League matches through DAZN, which secured exclusive Canadian rights for the current broadcasting cycle. The streaming service provides comprehensive coverage of all matches, making it a one-stop destination for Canadian football enthusiasts.

Mexico and Central America

Disney's ESPN and Star+ platforms broadcast Champions League matches throughout Spanish-speaking Central America and parts of Mexico, while TelevisaUnivision's networks also provide coverage in Mexico, ensuring broad accessibility across the region.

Asia: Expanding Football Footprint

Middle East and North Africa

beIN Media Group maintains its dominant position across the Middle East and North Africa region, holding rights through 2026/27 across 23 MENA countries and 10 Asian territories. The comprehensive package covers Algeria, Bahrain, Chad, Djibouti, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, UAE, and Yemen.

Southeast Asia

beIN Sports also covers much of Southeast Asia, including Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Timor-Leste. This extensive coverage ensures that the rapidly growing Asian football market has comprehensive access to Europe's elite competition.

Indian Subcontinent

Sony Sports Network channels provide live Champions League coverage across India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, Afghanistan, and the Maldives. The broadcaster's multiple channels ensure extensive coverage of all matches, catering to the region's passionate football following.

East Asia

Various broadcasters serve East Asian markets, with specific arrangements varying by country. Regional sports networks and streaming platforms ensure coverage across China, Japan, South Korea, and other territories, reflecting the competition's global appeal.

Africa: Continent-Wide Coverage

Canal+ Afrique and New World TV provide coverage across Sub-Saharan Africa, ensuring that football fans throughout the continent can follow Europe's premier club competition. The coverage reflects the growing importance of African audiences in global football broadcasting.

Oceania: Completing Global Coverage

Australia

Stan Sport holds broadcasting rights in Australia, having extended its agreement through 2026/27. The streaming platform offers comprehensive coverage of all Champions League matches, alongside other UEFA competitions. Previously, Optus Sport and SBS shared coverage, but Stan Sport now provides consolidated access.

New Zealand

New Zealand viewers can access matches through local broadcasting arrangements, with coverage typically following Australian patterns through regional sports networks.

South America: Football-Passionate Region

ESPN and Star+ provide coverage across Spanish-speaking South America, including Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela. This arrangement ensures that South American football fans, who follow European football with great interest, have comprehensive access to the competition.

Brazil

TNT Sports (formerly Turner Sports) and SBT share Brazilian broadcasting rights through 2027, providing both Portuguese-language commentary and extensive coverage of all matches. Brazil's passionate football culture makes Champions League coverage particularly important in this market.

Streaming and Digital Platforms

The Champions League broadcasting landscape increasingly emphasizes streaming platforms over traditional television. Services like Paramount+, Amazon Prime Video, DAZN, Disney+, and Stan Sport have become primary rights holders in many markets, reflecting changing viewer preferences and UEFA's strategy to reach younger, digitally-native audiences.

This shift toward streaming offers several advantages: viewers can watch on multiple devices, access on-demand replays, and enjoy enhanced viewing features like multiple camera angles and in-depth statistics. However, it also means that fans increasingly need multiple subscriptions to access all desired football content.

The New Format and Viewing Experience

The 2024/25 season introduced significant format changes to the Champions League, expanding from 32 to 36 teams and replacing group stages with a league phase where each team plays eight different opponents. This means more matches overall—increasing total games by 20 percent—and more opportunities for fans to watch their favorite teams compete.

The expanded format creates additional value for broadcasters and more content for viewers, though it also means longer seasons and more scheduling complexity. Match times remain consistent, with most games kicking off at 21:00 CET, while some matches begin at 18:45 CET during the league phase.

Free-to-Air and Highlights Coverage

While premium platforms dominate live match coverage, free-to-air options remain important for ensuring broad accessibility. Public broadcasters like the BBC, ZDF, and RTVE provide highlights coverage and occasional live matches, particularly the final. UEFA.tv also offers complete coverage in territories without established broadcast agreements, ensuring the competition remains accessible globally.

Highlights packages typically air shortly after matches conclude, allowing fans who cannot access live coverage to stay connected with the competition. These offerings remain crucial for maintaining the Champions League's position as a truly global sporting event rather than an exclusive premium product.

Looking Forward

As we progress through the 2025/26 season and approach the next rights cycle beginning in 2027, the broadcasting landscape continues evolving. Streaming platforms are likely to play an increasingly central role, while traditional broadcasters adapt their strategies to compete in the digital age.

UEFA's challenge lies in balancing maximum revenue generation with maintaining broad accessibility and growing global audiences. The organization's three-year rights cycles allow for regular reassessment and adaptation to changing market conditions and viewer preferences.

For fans, the key takeaway is understanding where to find coverage in your region and what platforms or subscriptions are necessary. Whether through traditional television, streaming services, or free-to-air highlights, the UEFA Champions League remains accessible worldwide, ensuring that football's ultimate club competition reaches its passionate global audience.

The competition's enduring appeal—evidenced by record viewership numbers and robust broadcasting revenues—demonstrates that despite format changes and evolving media consumption habits, the Champions League remains football's premium product, captivating audiences across continents and cultures as Europe's elite clubs compete for continental glory.