In 2023 BT Sport rebranded as TNT Sports following its acquisition by Warner Bros. Discovery. The transition wasn’t just a name change — it reshaped the UK football broadcasting landscape and put fresh pressure on Sky Sports’ historical Premier League dominance.
The rebrand timeline
BT Group sold its 50% stake in BT Sport to Warner Bros. Discovery in September 2022 for an undisclosed sum (industry estimates: £600M-£700M). The new joint venture launched on 18 July 2023 as TNT Sports, branded under the BT-WBD partnership but operationally controlled by Discovery.
The Champions League rights — TNT Sports’ marquee asset — were carried over from BT Sport’s existing 2024-2027 cycle deal with UEFA. That deal cost approximately £1.2 billion over three seasons, making it the most expensive UK Champions League rights package ever.
What changed for fans
For the actual football, very little changed. Coverage moved from BT Sport branding to TNT Sports branding overnight. The same studio talent — Steve McManaman, Joe Cole, Owen Hargreaves, Rio Ferdinand — stayed on. The technical production stayed under the same Stockley Park crew.
What did change:
- App and platform: Discovery+ became the primary streaming entry point. BT Sport’s standalone app was retired.
- Subscription bundling: TNT Sports is now sold standalone (£30/month) or bundled with Discovery+ (£30/month combined).
- Ad load: TNT Sports broadcasts now carry slightly more ad inventory (per industry monitoring), driven by Discovery’s higher pre-match show structure.
The Champions League deal structure
The 2024-2027 cycle splits Champions League matches between TNT Sports (exclusive UK rights to most match days) and Amazon Prime Video, which holds rights to one Tuesday match per week. Sky Sports has zero Champions League rights in the UK for this cycle.
This is a major shift from the 2018-2021 cycle when BT Sport had exclusive UK Champions League rights AND BT Sport-branded Europa League. The 2021-2024 deal added Amazon Prime as the Tuesday partner — a hedge by UEFA against single-broadcaster monopoly risk.
Why it matters for fans
The TNT Sports / Amazon split means UK Champions League viewers need TWO subscriptions to follow their team across all match days:
- TNT Sports (£30/month) for most weeks
- Amazon Prime (£8.99/month) for the Tuesday “best match” pick
Combined cost: £39/month for full coverage. Pre-2018, when ITV/Sky shared Champions League rights, free-to-air coverage was available for some knockout matches. That’s gone now.
What’s next: 2027 cycle bidding
The 2027-2030 UK Champions League rights cycle goes to tender in late 2026. Industry expectations:
- TNT Sports is the favourite to retain main package
- Amazon Prime likely to expand its Tuesday inventory
- Possible new entrant: DAZN UK is reportedly preparing a bid for the secondary package
- Free-to-air final: UEFA may re-introduce a free-to-air requirement for the Champions League final, similar to the FIFA World Cup final
If a free-to-air requirement returns, ITV or BBC would broadcast the final — a meaningful change for casual fans.
The bigger picture
TNT Sports’ arrival has injected price competition into UK sports broadcasting after years of Sky Sports dominance. Premier League rights remain Sky’s stronghold (Sky has 128 of 200 matches per season vs TNT’s 52), but Champions League is TNT’s weapon.
Whether this competition holds depends on the next renewal cycles. If Sky reclaims meaningful Champions League inventory in 2027, the bundle math for fans changes again.
Independent analysis. Hesgoal is an editorial publication and receives no payment from broadcasters.