Champions League gets new TV channel and fans can watch the first game free
There is a new way to watch Champions League games this season after TNT’s latest move to become part of HBO Max.
Last season TNT Sports was available on Discovery+ but it has now moved to the HBO Max stable and that means there are alternative ways to watch the Champions League in the UK and Ireland.
Fans who previously would have had to visit the TNT Sports website to buy a subscription or monthly pass can instead do it with the click of a button on Amazon Prime. Members of Prime can add the HBO Max monthly subscription by adding it here and it can be cancelled at any time.
TNT has 185 Champions League matches included most group stage games and knockout games up to and including the final. However, it is not the only broadcaster to offer Champions League football streaming for UK audiences.
Amazon has the rights to one Champions League match per week. Shown on a Tuesday, it will include fixtures featuring Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester United, Aston Villa, and Manchester City.
The good news for UK fans is that they can watch the first Amazon game free if they sign up for a free trial here. Amazon offers a free trial for its video streaming service for anybody who has never used it before.
After that it will cost £8.99 per month for Amazon Prime to get access to Champions League games.
Every team in the Champions League league phase will play eight fixtures each against different teams each time. That means there will be eight game weeks, with eight games shown on Amazon on Tuesday nights and the rest on TNT Sports.
There will then be a playoff round featuring teams who finish 9th to 24th will face a two-legged playoff round to qualify for the round of 16.
Winners of the playoff will meet the top eight teams in the round of 16, with winners moving on to the quarter final, semi final and final.
That makes nine more game weeks with Champions League coverage throughout the season.
The final will take place on 5 June at Madrid’s Estadio Metropolitano. TNT has previously shown the final as free to air but last season was the first time fans required a subscription to watch. TNT has not confirmed if the final will be free to air this season.