Pay-television broadcaster Sky New Zealand has extended its rights deal for the Uefa Champions League and other club competitions organised by European football’s governing body.
Sky’s new deal with Uefa is for the three seasons spanning 2018-19 to 2020-21 and covers the Champions League, Europa League and annual Super Cup match.
For each of the next three seasons, Sky will broadcast 138 Champions League matches and feature expanded coverage of the Europa League. Sky Sport customers will now be able to watch at least double the Champions League fixtures compared to the 2017-18 season.
Sky will commence its new contract with live coverage of this year’s Super Cup between Spanish LaLiga rivals Real Madrid and Atlético Madrid at 6.45am local time tomorrow (Thursday).
The Uefa rights extension comes after Sky yesterday lost rights to the English Premier League. Telco Spark has acquired exclusive rights for the Premier League, as well as programming from MUTV, Manchester United’s in-house television channel.
The Premier League deal will run for three seasons, from 2019-20 to 2021-22, with every match available live and on demand.
Sky had previously provided Premier League coverage under a sublicensing deal with pay-television broadcaster beIN Sports.