How to watch the Champions League in Ireland

Here is a sentence you will not hear from a fella selling boxes: most of the Champions League is free in Ireland this season. Virgin Media’s games every match week, RTÉ’s on Wednesdays, and the final. Enjoy it while it lasts, because the map changes in 2027.

Who has it this season

• Free-to-air Most of it Review
  • Free

  Virgin Media shows live Champions League games free every match week, and RTÉ shows a Wednesday game, to the end of 2026/27. From 2027/28 the free share is RTÉ's Wednesday pick and the final.

• Prime Video Some of it Review
  • €6.99/month

  Prime Video shows a top Tuesday game, co-exclusively in Ireland, this season and again from 2027/28 to 2030/31.

• NOW Most of it Review
  • €14.99/day pass A day pass covers one day of it.
  • €33.99/month

  Premier Sports has first pick on Tuesday nights and shows the Europa League and Conference League; TNT Sports carries the Champions League in Ireland too.

• Sky Most of it Review
  • €34/month (12-month contract)

  Premier Sports has first pick on Tuesday nights and shows the Europa League and Conference League; TNT Sports carries the Champions League in Ireland too. Same channels, as a Sky add-on on a 12-month contract.

Rights and prices checked 2026-09-19. Standard prices; intro offers can be lower.

Five names hold Irish rights for 2026/27, the last season of the current cycle. Virgin Media shows live games every match week on its channels and on Virgin Media Play. RTÉ shows a Wednesday game on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player. Premier Sports has first pick on Tuesday nights plus Wednesday coverage and the final. TNT Sports carries the competition in Ireland too, and Prime Video has a top Tuesday game, co-exclusively.

From 2027/28 to 2030/31 it reshuffles, and the first picks are shared rather than exclusive. On Wednesdays the first-pick game is on RTÉ, free, and also on Paramount+. On Tuesdays it is on Premier Sports and also on Prime Video. RTÉ and Premier Sports share the final, and RTÉ has the Super Cup. Sky Sports takes all the remaining games, plus the Europa and Conference Leagues exclusively. Virgin Media is out.

The cheapest way to watch most of it

This season, do nothing. Watch Virgin Media and RTÉ through the aerial and you will see the best game most nights.

If your team is in it and you want every kick, add a NOW Sports Extra Month membership in the months with matches: September to January for the league phase, then February to May for the knockouts. That gets you both Premier Sports channels and TNT Sports in one go, with no contract. Cancel it in the gap and again in June.

Day passes cover a single night. Two knockout legs on a Sports Extra Day membership each is cheaper than a month; a whole round is not.

Next season the free share drops to one game a match week, so budget for the Sports Extra membership from September 2027, or Sky Sports if you want the rest.

What’s free

Virgin Media’s games and RTÉ’s Wednesday picks, on Saorview and the free players. The final on 5 June 2027 is on RTÉ. Europa and Conference League games involving Irish clubs have been shown free on RTÉ in the past.

The calendar

• League phase: started with matchday 1 on 8 to 10 September 2026. Still to come: matchday 5 on 24/25 November, matchday 6 on 8/9 December, matchday 7 on 19/20 January and matchday 8 on 27 January 2027.
• Knockout play-offs: 16/17 and 23/24 February 2027.
• Round of 16: 9/10 and 16/17 March. Quarter-finals: 6/7 and 13/14 April. Semi-finals: 27/28 April and 4/5 May.
• Final: Saturday 5 June 2027, Madrid.
• Europa League final: 26 May 2027, Frankfurt. Conference League final: 2 June 2027, Istanbul.

Free this year, mostly. A few months of NOW for the rest. Sort me out with the finder, or go straight to the source.

If your TV does not have the Virgin Media Play or NOW apps, a cheap streaming stick fixes that. Everything else is on the watch index.

Following more than one competition? All the football prices the lot together, and what Sky Sports costs in Ireland compares the ways to buy it.