Football fans “priced out of Champions League final”
Football Fans have voiced their frustration across social media after the Guardian reported that TNT Sports will not be making the Champions League final free-to-air.
For the first time in its history of being broadcast in the UK, the Champions League final will not be free to air after news broke on Monday that TNT Sports has decided not to make it available to everyone.
The news has angered football fans. As Twitch streamer and Arsenal fan R1ZLER explained:
“They’ve chosen to put it behind a paywall to grab more cash from our pockets.
“We’ve been used to over the years of the finals pretty much being free to watch, and I’m disgusted by it myself and would say most of England is also disgusted by it.”
Aston Villa’s 3-0 win over Freiburg in the Europa League final, which cemented their first major trophy in 30 years and a first European trophy in over 44 years and Crystal Palace’s 1-0 win over Rayo Vallecano, cementing their first European trophy, were put behind paywalls.
2026 will be the first time the Champions League final will not be on free-to-air television.
‘Football is for the fans. We stand together in support of the tradition of European club competition finals being shown free to air and urge TNT to honour this tradition by making the Champions League final free to watch for millions of fans, as it always has been. This is…
— AST (@AST_arsenal) May 28, 2026
Football reporter for The Standard, Dom Smith, said:
“I mean, it’s a great shame for fans who can’t afford or aren’t prepared to pay the fees that TNT charges.
It means that some people would have missed out on the chance to watch their team win the Europa League.”
From 1992, ITV held the rights and shared them with Sky from 2008 to 2015, but the final remained on free-to-air television.
Even when BT Sports (now known as TNT Sports) took over the rights in 2015, they made the finals of each competition available to watch at no extra cost by putting them on YouTube.
It changed after Warner Brothers Discovery took over BT Sport, rebranding it to what it is now; however, they would have needed to subscribe to Discovery+. On March 26, 2026, HBO Max officially launched in the UK, replacing Discovery+ and has been heavily promoted whenever TNT has had a live game.
The theme of fans having to pay extra remains, as those who cannot get broadband and TV bundles with the likes of Virgin Media or Sky can subscribe to HBO Max. However, if you are a Sky customer, then HBO Max is included.
The basic tier, which includes TNT Sports, costs £4.99, meaning fans wouldn’t need a full TNT Sports subscription. But it’s the fact that they’ll be required to pay instead of getting free access like in previous years.
Prime Minister Kier Starmer has since sent out a letter urging WBD to reconsider their decision to price fans out of the European Cup finals.
The Football Supporters Association has also issued a joint statement with the Prime Minister and various fan groups. SportsByte reached out to Warner Bros. Discovery for a comment, but has received no response.
It remains to be seen whether or not TNT Sports and WBD will backtrack on their decision, but for now, fans will have to pay to watch the biggest club cup final of the season.
