After Viewing has dropped dramatically for Champions League football after the handover from terrestrial TV to BT Sports, UEFA have come out and labelled it a ‘mistake’ to give BT full coverage.
Since the £897million deal with BT came into effect at the start of this season has been very much a disappointment, Champions League football could be set for a return to terrestrial television after the current three-year exclusive contract with BT Sport expires.
Viewing rates have plummeted, and now a high-ranking UEFA official has admitted that the agreement was a ‘mistake’, according to the Daily Mail.
1 million viewers were said to have tuned into the Champions League quarter final first leg between PSG and Manchester City last week, which was a high this season for BT. However, this is still around a fifth of the amount of viewers who tuned in when the Champions League was broadcasted on ITV.
It is not the quality of BT broadcasts that worry UEFA, but the exclusivity means that there has been a considerable amount of people who cannot watch the matches.
The deal was originally signed in 2013, and these factors considered, it is only right for UEFA to consider a new option to take Champions League football to a different media outlet, and henceforth bring back viewing figures seen in the past.
It is without a doubt that Sky and BT will be doing battle to land a new Champions League deal.
