The Champions League final will not be free to watch for UK fans for the first time in 34 years.
Arsenal are gearing up to make history if they can defeat Luis Enrique‘s dominant Paris Saint-Germain side.
But fans in their native North London, and around the rest of the nation, will have to fork out to follow their side in the contest.
And the same is true for both the Europa League and Conference League finals, in which Aston Villa and Crystal Palace are due to play respectively.
The Villains are set to face German outfit Freiburg on Wednesday, while Palace will battle Spain‘s Rayo Vallecano a week later.
The decision to charge for the fixtures was made by TNT Sports, the rights holder in the UK to all three European finals.
It will be the first time in almost three-and-a-half decades that the fixture will not be broadcast for free, and the first since its rebrand from the European Cup to the Champions League in 1992.
TNT’s predecessor BT Sport purchased the rights for the Uefa clashes in the 2015-16 season, but has broadcast the match for free in the years since.
But after merging with media giants Warner Bros Discovery in 2023 and rebranding under the new name, the company have made the decision to require a subscription to watch.
The cheapest of those memberships will be a direct membership to HBO Max, which will grant viewers full access to the matches for £4.99/month on the Basic with ads package.
Fans set on watching without ads will have to double that figure to £9.99/month.
Supporters who want to enjoy the streaming giant’s full slate of sporting coverage throughout the year will have to splash out on the full TNT Sports package.
The Uefa finals are being included on packages that would not otherwise include TNT Sports events, which are normally reserved for full packages starting at £30.99/month.
The Guardian reports that some figures within Uefa are frustrated by the decision. They are said to feel that charging for the fixtures “breaks the spirit of a contract that states ‘best endeavours’ should be made to ensure finals are available for free.”
