In 2017, Turner Sports secured exclusive English-language broadcast rights for the UEFA Champions League in USA. The multi-platform deal agreed with UEFA, which was set to run from 2018 to 2021, saw the broadcaster air live Champions League matches on its linear television channels, including TNT, and also on its premium video streaming service Bleacher Report Live. In 2020, however – after the 2019/20 soccer season was put on hold following the COVID-19 pandemic – Turner decided to prematurely end its contract with UEFA. The UEFA Champions League rights in USA then went straight to ViacomCBS, who had previously secured exclusive English-language rights for the 2021-2024 period.
Turner Sports opted out of its UEFA Europa League deal in mid-2020, after previously acquiring multi-platform English-language rights to the competition in USA. The termination of the contract between Turner and UEFA was announced in June that year and took immediate effect, thus making CBS eligible to start broadcasting the Europa League two years early. At the time Turner held the rights, TNT used to air live Europa league matches on television, whereas over-the-top (OTT) platform B/R Live streamed all 205 games to subscribers in USA, every season. Turner was initially expected to cover the Europa League on its TV and digital assets through 2021.
Bleacher Report Live will stream all 205 UEFA Europa League matches to subscribers in USA. Following Turner’s multi-platform broadcast deal with UEFA, live streams from the group stage to the final will be available online on PC and Mac, as well as on B/R Live apps for Android, iOS and smart TVs. English-language commentary will be provided for every Europa League match covered live.
