The UEFA Champions’ League will remain free to air on Irish television at least until 2015.  RTE, TV3 and Setanta Sports renewed their broadcast contracts with the tournament which reaches its conclusion this season with the Final between Chelsea and Bayern Munich on the same weekend as the first All Ireland Heineken Cup Final.
RTÉ Sport has retained the rights to broadcast the Champions League on Wednesday nights from September 2012 until 2015. Tuesday night games will be shown on TV3 while the pay per view Setanta will broadcast both nights’ games.
RTÉ’s package is the premium one and also includes exclusive free to air coverage of the   UEFA Champions League Final and the UEFA Super Cup.  It will amount to eighteen live matches each season, and the coverage will also extend through RTE’s online and mobile platforms.
“We are delighted to have been able to secure these rights in the current difficult financial climate in line with our policy of significantly reducing sports rights costs,” said RTE Head of Sport Ryle Nugent announcing the deal.  “In an increasingly competitive climate securing the premium package for Wednesday night matches is a significant coup for a public service broadcaster.”
No financial details of the deal have been made public, as is the standard across all UEFA’s rights packages, though reports suggest a significant saving was made by RTE.
Broadcast and sponsorship rights for the tournament are controlled centrally by UEFA.