ITV are in talks to buy a section of Champions League rights from BT Sport.
It would mean fans can watch games back on terrestrial TV for the first time since 2015.
Liverpool contested the last two Champions League finals and won last year’sCredit: Press Association
ITV broadcast the live coverage of England’s World Cup semi-final against Croatia in 2018Credit: Getty – Contributor
According to the Times, the broadcaster was disappointed at being left empty-handed with rights after the latest round of bidding for games starting in 2021.
BT Sport first bought the rights exclusively for £897million in 2015, taking top European football off terrestrial screens and on to the paid subscription service.
The UK telecoms giant currently charges £25 a month for BT Sport, which includes Premier League games, UFC and Heineken Cup rugby.
Their latest three-season package from 2021-24 cost BT £1.2billion, the same as the current 2018-21 deal.
ITV shared the rights with Sky Sports before BT got on board in 2015 and would air crucial group and knock-out games.
BT currently put extended highlights of their matches on YouTube and broadcast the last two finals on the online platform, while making their channel free to air for the showpiece event.
But the last two finals involved English teams with Liverpool losing 3-1 to Real Madrid in 2018 before returning 12 months later to beat Tottenham 2-0.
STREAMING BATTLE
ITV is worried that Silicon Valley giants Netflix and Amazon are taking too much of their slice of the TV cake.
The BBC and ITV teamed up to create BritBox recently, a service they hope will take on the online streaming behemoths.
They took a two per cent fall in advertising sales despite the Rugby World Cup being shown on the channel, while they are set to share the Euro 2020 rights with the Beeb.
They also had the exclusive rights to England’s Euro 2020 qualifiers and did the World Cup semi-final in 2018.
The broadcast team of Mark Pougatch and John Champion, with pundits Glenn Hoddle, Ian Wright, Lee Dixon and Roy Keane often featuring are often popular with fans.
Watch Liverpool captain, Jordan Henderson, practise with young fan before match away at Tottenham
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
