THE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE holders will kick off the following season in a stand-alone Tuesday night game as part of the new proposed £4.5billion TV deal.
SunSport revealed last week how Uefa’s new marketing partner Relevent have now begun the formal tender process from 2027-28.
And the full details of the options being offered to broadcasters, including a planned global streaming platform for a Tuesday game in every match round up to and including the semi-final stage, have now been published.
As expected, the auction for the five biggest TV markets – the UK, France, Germany, Italy and Spain – will launch simultaneously.
That will allow the likes of streaming giants Netflix and DAZN to bid for more than one territory.
There will also be a “global first-pick package”, offering rights to one game per matchweek and earmarked for a streamer rather than traditional broadcaster, with just over a month before the November 18 bid deadline.
But in another change to the existing model, the winners of the 2026-27 competition – with the Final due to be played in Atletico Madrid’s Estadio Metropolitano – will kick off the following season’s competition as the only match on night one.
The remaining 17 matches in the first week of the league phase will be played over the following two nights – Wednesday and Thursday.
The opening week will again only feature Champions League matches and not the other two Uefa competitions.
The Champions League returns next week on Tuesday after the international break.
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Newcastle host Benfica, Manchester City visit Villarreal and Arsenal take on Atletico Madrid at the Emirates.
Chelsea host Ajax, Tottenham visit Monaco and Liverpool face Eintracht Frankfurt in Germany the next day.
And there’s another standout match as Real Madrid face Juventus at Santiago Bernabeu on Wednesday.
