The sky-high new cost of watching football on TV: How fans will have to shell out north of £1,350 a year after new Champions League deal

Fans in the UK could face costs that could exceed £1,350-a-year to watch football on television, after Paramount+ landing rights to Champions League matches saw another network enter the fray. Paramount made the largest bid in an auction for the rights from 2027 to 2031, well in excess of the £1billion deal in place with TNT Sports currently. American owned platform Paramount's introduction came as part of a major shake-up of football TV rights, with UEFA confirming their broadcast partners for European competitions. Sky Sports secured rights to show Europa League and Conference League matches - marking another blow for TNT Sports - while the BBC are set to continue to broadcast Champions League highlights. Amazon Prime will retain their existing rights to have the first pick of the Tuesday evening matches in Europe's elite club competition in the UK, with Paramount to get priority on Wednesday nights and gain exclusivity for the final. Viewers in the UK are set to be hit by the further fragmentation of the football rights landscape. A subscription to Sky costs viewers £25 per month, with the price doubling with the addition of the Sky Sports package to watch live sport. The broadcaster holds the majority of Premier League rights in the UK. From the start of this season, Sky Sports are showing a record 215 matches - up from 128 - as part of a four-year deal. Sky Sports, in addition to its European offering from 2027, also currently have rights for the Carabao Cup and the Bundesliga. TNT Sports have the primetime Saturday lunchtime slot for Premier League matches, which gives them 52 live games each year. A subscription to TNT Sports, which also holds rights to the FA Cup and Serie A, costs £30.99 per month. The BBC also showing 14 live FA Cup matches per season. TV licence costing £14.54 a month is required to watch live television. To have access to the full slate of Champions League matches currently, an Amazon Prime subscription is also required. The subscription costs £8.99 per month, but includes access to Amazon's other services. Subscribers to Paramount+ pay £7.99 per month - or £10.99 for an enhanced package - after initial discounts for the first three months. Should fans sign up for subscriptions to each of the providers, they could face costs of £112.51 per month, totalling £1,350 annually. Further subscriptions would be required on top for fans wanting to watch LaLiga, broadcast by Premier Sports, or the Women's Champions League, which is shown on Disney+. Fans, however, are likely to shop around for deals and offers in a bid to reduce the costs, while it is unclear how Paramount plan to launch their Champions League model. A further twist could come with Paramount — who own Channel 5 in the UK — being expected to bid for TNT Sports' owners Warner Bros Discovery. Paramount, the owner of Paramount+ and CBS Sports, currently hold the rights for Champions League matches in the United States. Coverage on CBS has proved widely popular, with presenter Kate Abdo and pundits Jamie Carragher, Thierry Henry and Micah Richards forming an established line-up on the network. Sky Sports welcomed a return of European action for the first time since 2015, after the broadcaster had been superseded by TNT Sports - then BT Sport - in a rights auction two years earlier. In a statement, the broadcaster said: 'From 2027/28, EVERY match from the UEFA Europa League and UEFA Conference League will be live, only on Sky Sports! 'More football. More drama. Every day of the week.' Jonathan Licht, Sky Sports' Chief Sports Officer, added: 'I'm proud that we're able to bring European football competitions back to Sky customers. 'The UEFA Europa League and Conference League have delivered some of the most exciting European stories in recent years, with English clubs consistently performing strongly and lifting trophies. 'This partnership is made possible by the strength of our business model and brand as the home of sport in the UK. 'Alongside the Premier League, EFL, SPFL, WSL and more, fans will now regularly enjoy domestic or European football every day of the week during the season on Sky Sports.' In a statement, TNT Sports insisted it still offers 'great value' for customers despite the loss of Champions League, Europa League and Conference League rights from 2027. 'TNT Sports retains a strong portfolio of football with our coverage of the Premier League, newly acquired Emirates FA Cup and Adobe Women's FA Cup rights, as well as the UEFA Club Competitions for the next season and a half,' a TNT Sports statement read. 'Coupled with an extensive portfolio of other premium sport, including The Ashes and international cricket, Prem Rugby and Premiership Women's Rugby, UFC, MotoGP, Australian Open and Roland-Garros tennis, year-round cycling, the Olympic Games, means TNT Sports continues to offer consumers great value despite the outcome of the recent auction. 'Ultimately we remained committed to the approach that made financial sense for our business, and for our customers.