The Champions League final will not be made available free-to-air by TNT Sports after it lost the rights to the competition from 2027.
It means the showdown between Arsenal and Paris St-Germain on May 30 will be the first time that the biggest game in club football is shown exclusively behind a paywall in the UK.
The decision has been taken despite the final featuring an English team for the first time in three years, with Arsenal looking to be crowned European champions for the first time in their history.
It comes less than six months after TNT lost the rights to the Champions League to Paramount from the season after next, as well as those to the Europa League and Conference League to Sky Sports.
TNT, formerly BT Sport, has held those rights for more than a decade under a contract with Uefa that requires it to use its “best endeavours” to ensure the Champions League final is shown free-to-air.
That had been adhered to through live broadcasts on its YouTube channel or the Discovery+ streaming service, which had shown TNT before the launch of parent company Warner Bros Discovery’s HBO Max service in March.
But the final a week on Saturday will only be available to those who subscribe either to HBO Max (from £4.99 a month) or TNT itself (usually £31.99 a month).
The decision to dispense with free-to-air coverage appears to be part of a strategy to drive HBO Max subscriptions, as well as the result of the impending end of a Uefa contract that could cost TNT thousands of customers.
TNT declined to comment on the decision beyond a press release announcing all three European finals this month would be available to HBO Max subscribers.
Uefa did not respond to requests for comment.
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