Starmer urges TNT Sports to show Champions League final for free

Prime Minister Keir Starmer has urged TNT Sports to show the Champions League final for free rather than putting it behind a paywall.

Next Saturday’s match between Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain will air on TNT Sports at 5pm, behind a £4.99 paywall, and Starmer has said “hard-working people should not have to worry about forking out for a subscription to watch a game of this magnitude”.

The £4.99 fee is for an HBO Max subscription, which gives you access to TNT Sports coverage of the final and other Uefa cup finals.

As a keen Arsenal fan, Starmer addressed his concerns in an open letter on Saturday.

“I was saddened to see that, for the first time since the competition started 34 years ago, TNT Sports has decided that the Champions League final will not be free to watch for football supporters here in the UK.

“The Champions League is the biggest club football competition in the world and rightly means a lot to fans in this country – the home of football. I am a firm believer that the final of this competition should remain free to watch, whether Arsenal have made it or not.

“Obviously, I want as many fellow fans as possible to be able to watch our team in this historic final for the first time in 20 years. However, this is bigger than that.

“This is about supporters of all teams coming together in living rooms and pubs in every corner of the country to watch the most elite players in Europe battle it out.”

Some Arsenal fans were left in tears after the team were crowned Premier League champions

The final is especially significant for millions of British Arsenal fans after the club won the Premier League for the first time in 22 years, giving them the chance to complete a historic double by winning their first-ever Champions League title.

It is only the second time Arsenal have reached the final, the first since 2006, with reigning champions PSG standing between Mikel Arteta’s side and one of the greatest nights in the club’s history.

Starmer added: “We should be putting supporters first. That is why I have already encouraged FIFA to do more to make tickets more affordable at this summer’s World Cup.

“That is also why I want to strongly urge you to reconsider and make the final next Saturday free to watch for the millions of passionate football fans in this country.”

PSG’s head coach Luis Enrique. / Credit: AP

Since the European Cup was rebranded as the Champions League 34 years ago, the final has always been free to watch, shown on ITV from 1992 to 2015, then streamed for free by BT Sport and its successor TNT Sports for the past decade.

But this year, UK rights holder TNT Sports, owned by Warner Bros Discovery, confirmed to viewers that they will only be able to watch the final on its own platform or HBO Max, both of which require a subscription.

The same applies to Crystal Palace’s Conference League final against Rayo Vallecano on May 27, and was also the case for Aston Villa’s Europa League final win over SC Freiburg on Wednesday.

TNT Sports can be accessed through HBO Max, BT, Sky, Virgin Media or Amazon, with subscriptions typically costing between £25 and £34 a month, while a separate HBO Max plan starts from £4.99.

In a statement to ITV News, TNT Sports said: “It has been a privilege to bring Uefa club competitions to sports fans across the UK throughout the season. Having three Premier League clubs reach the finals shows the strength of English Football and something that we are proud to continue to support.

“We have made all three Uefa finals this year available from just £4.99, the price for a month-long subscription to HBO Max that also includes the great entertainment on the service. This represents exceptional value for fans to watch the conclusion of the competitions.”

According to a report in The Guardian, UEFA was “irritated” by the sports broadcaster’s decision to put all three European finals behind a paywall, having previously made them available to stream for free.

TNT Sports is set to lose the TV rights to all three European competitions from the 2027-28 season, having been outbid by Paramount for the Champions League and by Sky Sports for the Europa League and Conference League in last year’s Uefa media rights auction.