Wondering where you can watch the Champions League in the 2025/2026 season? You've come to the right place. This guide has all the details on Champions League TV coverage and live streams around the world – including options to watch for free.
► UK: TNT Sports, Amazon Prime Video
► Ireland: Virgin Media (free), RTÉ (free), Premier Sports
► US: Paramount+
► Australia: Stan Sport
► Free streams: RTÉ, Virgin Media (Ireland), RTL, VTM (Belgium), TRT (Turkey)
► Watch from anywhere: Try NordVPN 100% risk free
Europe's premier club competition kicks off on September 16 with the first round of fixtures, which are all held mid-week. The final will take place on at the Puskás Aréna in Budapest, Hungary, on 30 May 2026.
You can watch every single Champions League game live in the UK, the US, Australia, and numerous other countries, and you can also watch the Champions League for free in some places, too.
If you’re going to be abroad for any of the action, don’t forget that you can use a VPN to watch your usual UCL live stream from overseas – find out more below.
Can I watch the Champions League for free?
Great question, and the answer is yes, for some of the games in some countries.
Ireland enjoys extensive free coverage of the Champions League, with not one but two free-to-air broadcasters having rights to the action. RTÉ has at least one game live each week, which goes out on RTÉ 2 and the RTÉ Player (also available as a browser player). Meanwhile, Virgin Media TV has the rights to eight matches each week, half of which are available for free on Virgin Media Two and the Virgin Media Play streaming service - which can be used in-browser without registration.
In the UK, the final of the Champions League is likely to be shown for free on Discovery+, given the parent broadcaster TNT Sports has opened up the past two finals in this way. You can also get a 30-day free trial with Amazon Prime Video to watch one game per week. You can also watch Champions League highlights for free on the BBC iPlayer and BBC website for the second season in a row.
Elsewhere, in Belgium, the RTL and VTM networks regularly show Champions League games for free, which are live streamed vis the RTL Play and VTM Go services. You can also watch occasional games for free in Turkey through TRT Spor and its web player.
Use a VPN to watch from anywhere
Geo-restrictions apply to all major streaming services these days, but that doesn't mean you can't get your usual Champions League coverage if you're overseas.
All you need is a VPN (Virtual Private Network), a handy piece of internet security software that can make it look like your device is still back at home. Assuming it complies with your broadcaster’s T&Cs, you can use a VPN to unblock your usual streaming services and enjoy the football wherever you are in the world.
There are plenty of good-value options out there, but FourFourTwo’s brainy office mates TechRadar are big fans of NordVPN.
Where to watch Champions League in the UK
UEFA Champions League live coverage is shared between two broadcasters in the UK.
TNT Sports (formerly BT Sport) have rights to 187 of the 204 Champions League matches in 2025/2026. All of those games are streamed live on Discovery+.
Amazon Prime Video, in their second season of showing the Champions League, will show the other 17 matches this season, and have first pick of Tuesday night fixtures.
Champions League highlights on the BBC
The above broadcasters will be providing their own highlights packages but fans in the UK can watch Champions League highlights for free on the BBC. There is a weekly highlights show on Wednesday nights on BBC One or BBC Two, and you can also watch via the BBC iPlayer.
How to watch the Champions League in the US
Broadcasting giant CBS holds the exclusive Champions League rights in the US.
Coverage is split across the CBS Sports Network and CBS Sports Golazo Network cable channels and the Paramount+ streaming platform, where there's a feed for every single game.
CBS' coverage has rocketed to fame in recent years thanks to the chemistry of Jamie Carragher, Thierry Henry, Micah Richards, and host Kate Scott, and has been described as "a breath of fresh air" by FourFourTwo deputy editor Matthew Ketchell.
Watch Champions League live streams in Canada
Watch Champions League live streams in Australia
Watch Champions League live streams in New Zealand
Champions League format and schedule
The Champions League features 36 teams who, in a format introduced last season, start off in one big league, with each team playing eight games to determine their position.
The top eight go straight through to the knockout rounds. The teams placed 9th-24th go into a play-off round, with eight more teams going through to form the 'last-16' phase of the competition.
From then on, it's traditional two-leg home-and-away ties to get to the quarter-finals, semi-finals, and finals.
Champions League matches are played on Tuesday and Wednesday nights.
Champions League dates
Matchday 1: 16–18 September 2025
Matchday 2: 30 September–1 October 2025
Matchday 3: 21/22 October 2025
Matchday 4: 4/5 November 2025
Matchday 5: 25/26 November 2025
Matchday 6: 9/10 December 2025
Matchday 7: 20/21 January 2026
Matchday 8: 28 January 2026
Knockout phase play-offs: 17/18 & 24/25 February 2026
Round of 16: 10/11 & 17/18 March 2026
Quarter-finals: 7/8 & 14/15 April 2026
Semi-finals: 28/29 April & 5/6 May 2026
Final: 30 May 2026 (Budapest)
Champions League teams
- Paris Saint-Germain (France)
- Real Madrid (Spain)
- Manchester City (England)
- Bayern Munich (Germany)
- Liverpool (England)
- Inter Milan (Italy)
- Chelsea (England)
- Borussia Dortmund (Germany)
- Barcelona (Spain)
- Arsenal (England)
- Bayer Leverkusen (Germany)
- Atletico Madrid (Spain)
- Benfica (Portugal)
- Atalanta (Italy)
- Villarreal (Spain)
- Juventus (Italy)
- Eintracht Frankfurt (Germany)
- Club Brugge (Belgium)
- Tottenham Hotspur (England)
- PSV Eindhoven (Netherlands)
- AFC Ajax (Netherlands)
- Napoli (Italy)
- Sporting CP (Portugal)
- Olympiacos (Greece)
- Slavia Prague (Czech Republic)
- Bodo/Glimt (Norway)
- Olympique Marseille (France)
- FC Copenhagen (Denmark)
- AS Monaco (Monaco)
- Galatasaray (Turkey)
- Union Saint-Gilloise (Belgium)
- Qarabag FK (Azerbaijan)
- Athletic Bilbao (Spain)
- Newcastle United (England)
- Pafos FC (Cyrpus)
- Kairat Almaty (Kazakhstan)
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