RTÉ Secures Exclusive UEFA Champions League Rights From 2027 to 2031
RTÉ has clinched the rights to broadcast the prestigious UEFA Champions League from 2027 through 2031, including first pick live matches every Wednesday night and the highly anticipated UEFA Champions League final. This new deal strengthens RTÉ’s hold on one of the world’s most-watched club soccer competitions as fans prepare for an extraordinary four-year run of top-tier football action.
Declan McBennett, Group Head of RTÉ Sport, expressed tremendous satisfaction with the renewal.
“We are delighted to have retained rights to the greatest club competition in the world,”
McBennett said.
“Very few territories now have any free-to-air presence for UEFA rights and Ireland is one of them, which is critically important to our audience.”
Expanded Coverage: UEFA Super Cup and Highlights on RTÉ 2 and Player
Alongside the live Champions League matches, RTÉ will also broadcast the UEFA Super Cup finals and Wednesday night highlights packages. These will be available both on RTÉ 2 and the streaming platform RTÉ Player, catering to the growing demand for flexible, on-the-go access by Irish football fans.
Recent viewership data highlights the competition’s immense popularity. Last season, RTÉ 2 averaged nearly 200,000 viewers per live match, and the UEFA Champions League ranked as the third most-watched sporting event on RTÉ Player in 2025, with a remarkable 1.4 million total streams. The competition also maintained a spot in the top 10 most consumed content on the platform in 2026, confirming strong and sustained audience engagement.
RTÉ Expands Its Soccer Portfolio
The new UEFA deal builds on RTÉ’s existing soccer rights portfolio, which includes live coverage of UEFA Euro 2028, home fixtures for the Republic of Ireland Men’s and Women’s National Teams, and the FAI Cup. This comprehensive lineup underlines RTÉ’s commitment to being Ireland’s leading destination for premier soccer.
This summer’s kickoff of the 2026 FIFA World Cup across the USA, Mexico, and Canada, featuring an unprecedented 48 teams, will see all 104 matches broadcast live and free to air on RTÉ 2 and RTÉ Player. Soccer fans in Ireland and beyond will have unprecedented access to the sport’s biggest events in real time.
Why This Matters Now
For Alabama and U.S. audiences, this development exemplifies the growing global demand for accessible live soccer coverage, reflecting broader trends in sports broadcasting. As soccer’s global profile surges, rights deals like this set a benchmark for free-to-air availability in an era of exclusive paywall restrictions.
RTÉ’s ability to secure exclusive, free-to-air rights for the UEFA Champions League is particularly significant given the shrinking landscape of public access to marquee soccer events worldwide. For viewers who seek top-tier matches without subscription barriers, this news signals a commitment to keeping the sport accessible to mass audiences, a message resonating internationally.
What’s Next?
Fans should start preparing for the 2027 season when RTÉ’s expanded Champions League coverage begins. Meanwhile, viewers can already immerse themselves in the 2026 FIFA World Cup live broadcasts. Soccer enthusiasts across Ireland, Alabama, and the U.S. can stay tuned to RTÉ 2 and the RTÉ Player for real-time updates, highlights, and exclusive soccer content through 2031.
RTÉ’s role as a key football broadcaster continues to grow, promising a sustained era of world-class soccer accessible on free-to-air platforms.
