Arsenal vs PSG Champions League final is free to watch on certain TV channel | Football | Sport
Arsenal face PSG at the Puskas Arena in Budapest (Image: Getty Images)
Virgin Media subscribers can watch Arsenal face Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League final on Saturday evening without any extra charge. Following TNT Sports’ contentious announcement that the fixture would neither be free-to-air nor free-to-stream, the cable television provider will grant its TV customers access at no additional cost.
This means that those lacking an active HBO Max or TNT Sports subscription can still view the match via Virgin. A dedicated HD pop-up channel, 526, has been launched, offering live coverage. Viewers with a current TNT Sports subscription via Virgin Media can continue to access TNT Sports 1 on channel 521. Virgin also broadcast Aston Villa’s recent Europa League final success as well as Crystal Palace’s Europa Conference League victory.
In past years, supporters could enjoy European finals without paying. Yet that has changed this year in a contentious decision that prompted a last-minute appeal from the Prime Minister Sir Kier Starmer.
TNT, and their predecessor BT Sport, have previously made the match available free of charge every year since securing the broadcasting rights from ITV a decade ago. They initially did so by simultaneously streaming the final live on YouTube.
More recently, they made the coverage available without charge on Discovery+. However, following the transition to HBO Max, they are not doing so. The decision has sparked controversy and developed into something of an international debate.
Starmer has urged TNT Sports to broadcast the Champions League final free of charge. The Prime Minister has already penned a letter to the broadcaster, pressing them to make their coverage accessible to all viewers.
Starmer spoke to talkSPORT about the matter, saying: “I just think it should be free, it’s always been free every year up to this year, and I say this not as an Arsenal fan, all fans want to watch the Champions League final.
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Arsenal fans outside the Puskas Arena (Image: Getty)
“It’s a big event, it should be free, and that’s why I wrote to them to say ‘please make it free’, I renew that actually, I really do think they should do that, I think it’s the right thing to do.”
Starmer had previously stated in a post on X: “Football should bring people together, not shut them out. For the first time since the competition began, fans won’t be able to watch the Champions League final for free.
“That’s not right. This is bigger than wanting to watch Arsenal in this historic final. It’s bigger than one club.
“Hardworking people shouldn’t have to fork out for a subscription to watch this match. I urge TNT Sports to reconsider and make the final next Saturday free to watch.”
In response, TNT Sports released a statement saying: “We have made all three UEFA finals this year available from just £4.99, the price for a month-long subscription to HBO Max.”
PSG vs Arsenal is scheduled to take place at the Puskas Arena in Budapest, Hungary, on Saturday, May 30, with kick-off set for 5pm UK time.
