Why is the Champions League on Thursday night? Exclusive matchweeks explained
The European top table will feast across three nights of the week.
The long-standing gag of avoiding '[insert European town here] on a Thursday night' is over – continental football is shifting.
A rejigged, expanded Champions League format has been mirrored by the Europa League and Conference League, and one striking, surface-level feature is raising eyebrows.
Tuesday and Wednesday evenings have long been exclusive homes of top-tier European football, but the drama is leaking into Thursday from 2024/25.
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The new format means every team will play eight matches in the League Phase, up from the traditional six.
Each of the three European competitions will play one 'exclusive matchweek' over the course of the League Phase, meaning neither of the other two competitions will be held in those weeks. See below for the list of exclusive matchweeks.
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UEFA has made the change to increase the visibility of each individual tournament as it attempts to drum up more interest in the second and third tier Europa and Conference League competitions respectively.
Champions League exclusive matchweek
Tuesday 17th to Thursday 19th September 2024
Europa League exclusive matchweek
Wednesday 25th and Thursday 26th September 2024
Conference League exclusive matchweek
Thursday 19th December 2024
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Champions League TV rights 2024/25
TNT Sports and Amazon Prime Video share the live broadcasting rights for the Champions League in 2024/25.
If you already have BT Broadband, you can add TNT Sports to your existing contract from just £18 per month. You can add the ‘Big Sport’ package for £40 per month which includes all TNT Sports and 11 Sky Sports channels via a NOW pass.
You can also access TNT Sports via discovery+ and stream directly to your smart TV.
You can watch the match on TNT Sports via discovery+ Premium monthly pass without signing up to a contract.
Regular subscribers can also stream matches on a variety of devices including laptops, smartphones and tablets via the discovery+ app.
Amazon Prime Video will broadcast one highlight match per round of Champions League fixtures this season.
Amazon's football coverage is available to stream on the Amazon Prime Video website and app – all you need is an account.
New customers can sign up for a free Amazon Prime 30-day free trial – which usually costs £8.99 per month – and you can watch all of the football shown on the platform.
You can also catch Champions League highlights on BBC TV and BBC iPlayer.
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