TNT Sports has abandoned a planned move to broadcast next year’s UEFA Champions League and Europa League finals without a subscription, three senior industry sources confirmed late Friday.

The decision marks a sharp turnaround from comments made by TNT Sports’ UK managing director, Jonathan Lewis, in March 2025, when he suggested exploring free-to-air options to counter declining viewership and rising subscription cancellations. At the time, Lewis told investors the broadcaster was considering “innovative distribution models” to retain audiences amid intensifying competition from streaming platforms and illegal streams.

Warner Bros. Discovery, TNT Sports’ parent company, has been under pressure to reduce losses in its European sports division, which reported a $210 million deficit in the first half of 2025. A leaked internal memo from June 2025 outlined plans to cut $180 million in costs across the unit by the end of 2026, with a focus on rights renegotiations and platform consolidation.

Sources say the U-turn on free finals was driven by Warner Bros. Discovery’s CFO John Malone, who argued that exclusive, high-value content must remain monetised to justify $3 billion spent annually on sports rights across Europe. “Free finals would have cannibalised subscriptions further,” one executive told us on condition of anonymity.

UEFA, which had been in preliminary talks with TNT Sports about the free-to-air experiment, expressed disappointment. “We believe wider access aligns with football’s growth ambitions,” a UEFA spokesperson said. “But we respect TNT’s commercial decisions.”

Consumer groups criticised the move. “Fans shouldn’t be punished for inflation and wage stagnation,” said Sarah Connelly, director of the Fan Ownership Trust. “Blocking the biggest matches behind paywalls deepens inequality in access.”

TNT Sports has not publicly commented on the reversal. When approached for confirmation, a company spokesperson said only, “We do not comment on internal strategy.”

1. First — The Champions League final on 30 May 2026 will air exclusively on TNT Sports and Discovery+ in the UK.
2. Second — The Europa League final on 27 May 2026 will also be paywalled.
3. Third — Both finals will carry no advertising breaks during live broadcasts.

Industry analysts say the decision highlights a growing divide in European sports broadcasting: either double down on premium, subscription-only models or risk further erosion of revenue as audiences fragment across platforms. “The middle ground is disappearing,” said media analyst Daniel Ritter. “TNT Sports has chosen the safer path.”

• 📊 Final ratings for Champions League 2024 averaged 4.2 million viewers in the UK, down from 5.8 million in 2022
• 🔍 Illegal streams of the 2024 final surged 48% year-on-year
• ⚠️ Free finals could have boosted legal viewership but reduced per-viewer revenue by up to 62%

The move comes as Amazon Prime Video prepares to stream the 2026 World Cup in the UK, further pressuring traditional broadcasters to rethink their models. For now, TNT Sports has locked in its strategy: exclusivity over access.