TVP, the Polish public-service broadcaster, has secured sub-licensing rights, through an eleventh-hour deal, for the next two years to pan-European soccer’s top-tier Uefa Champions League.
The deal, which covers the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons, was negotiated with Champions League rights-holder Polsat, the terrestrial and satellite broadcaster, and entails TVP airing one fixture per matchweek on Wednesdays.
Go deeper with GlobalData
TVP's coverage begins with Italian giants Inter Milan taking on Real Madrid, the Spanish heavyweights, on 15 September – meaning negotiations between TVP and Polsat were concluded very much at the last minute.
Coverage will be available on the linear TVP1 channel as well as on the TVP Sport online site and on the associated mobile app, and TVP will also show a highlights programme each Champions League Wednesday, covering action from every game that gameweek.
TVP will also cover all games featuring Polish sides in the Champions League group stages next season (none qualified this campaign).
It means the Champions League’s stint on free-to-air TV in Poland will continue. During the 2018-19 to 2020-21 cycle, TVP also sub-licensed one game per week from Polsat, which was also the rights-holder during those three years.
US Tariffs are shifting - will you react or anticipate?
Don’t let policy changes catch you off guard. Stay proactive with real-time data and expert analysis.
By GlobalDataPolsat retained rights for the current three-year cycle in late March in a deal covering 138 matches and also including the annual Uefa Super Cup match.
Uefa and its Team Marketing agency went to market in Poland with club competition rights for the next cycle in early February, with interested parties given until 1 March to submit bids.
For the 2018-21 cycle, Polsat held exclusive rights to the Champions League, as well as to the second-tier Europa League, and sub-licensed one Wednesday fixture on each Champions League matchday to TVP.
TVP, meanwhile, retained exclusive rights to the national team’s soccer matches for the 2022 to 2028 cycle, which includes two editions of the Uefa European Championships, in late March.
In an extensive rights package, the broadcaster snapped up: Poland’s European qualifiers for Euro 2024 and Euro 2028 and the 2026 World Cup; the Uefa Nations League in 2022, 2024 and 2026; the Nations League Finals in 2023, 2025 and 2027; all Poland home and away friendly internationals; and both Euro 2024 and Euro 2028.
The agreement encompasses at least 60 matches played by the Polish men's national team and up to 234 international matches in total from across Europe.
