RTÉ Sport retains Champions League rights until 2031

In a significant victory for Irish sports broadcasting, RTÉ Sport has successfully retained the exclusive rights to the UEFA Champions League for the 2027-2031 cycle. This landmark agreement ensures that fans across Ireland will continue to have access to the world's premier club football competition through free-to-air television, a privilege increasingly scarce in many European markets. RTÉ will have the coveted first pick of live matches broadcast on Wednesday nights, as well as exclusive coverage of the UEFA Champions League Final.

Declan McBennett, Group Head of RTÉ Sport, expressed his delight at securing these rights, emphasizing the critical importance of maintaining a free-to-air presence for such a major sporting event. "When you look at the allocation of rights across all the territories involved, very few have a free-to-air presence remaining and Ireland is one of those, and that's critically important to us and to our audience," he stated. This sentiment highlights the unique position Ireland holds in ensuring broad accessibility to top-tier football, distinguishing it from many other nations where such matches are increasingly behind paywalls.

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RTÉ is delighted to have retained the rights to the greatest club competition in the world.

The UEFA Champions League has proven to be a ratings powerhouse for RTÉ. Last season, live matches on RTÉ2 averaged nearly 200,000 viewers, and the competition ranked as the third most-watched sporting event on RTÉ Player in 2025, accumulating 1.4 million streams. Its consistent popularity cements its status as top-tier content on the RTÉ Player in 2026.

This new deal integrates the Champions League into a robust portfolio of soccer rights held by RTÉ, which includes coverage of UEFA EURO 2028, the Republic of Ireland men's and women's national teams, and the Sports Direct Men's FAI Cup. Furthermore, RTÉ will provide comprehensive live and free-to-air coverage of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, featuring all 104 matches from the expanded tournament hosted across the USA, Mexico, and Canada. This extensive offering underscores RTÉ's commitment to delivering high-quality football content to the Irish public, reinforcing its role as the nation's primary public service broadcaster for major sporting events.

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When you look at the allocation of rights across all the territories involved, very few have a free-to-air presence remaining and Ireland is one of those, and that's critically important to us and to our audience.