TRT to Broadcast UEFA Club Competitions in Turkey Through 2027
Turkish public broadcaster TRT has secured the exclusive free-to-air rights to UEFA’s prestigious club competitions for the upcoming 2024-27 cycle, marking a significant shift in the Turkish sports broadcasting landscape. This comprehensive deal encompasses the coveted UEFA Champions League (UCL), the UEFA Europa League, and the newly rebranded UEFA Conference League (formerly Europa Conference League).
The agreement ensures that Turkish football fans will have access to top-tier European club football action on free-to-air television, a move that is expected to significantly boost viewership and engagement. TRT’s acquisition includes rights to key properties such as the Champions League ‘opening tournament’, the UEFA Youth League, and the highly anticipated UEFA Super Cup, solidifying its position as a major player in sports broadcasting within Turkey.
Soccer match at stadium with floodlights, symbolizing UEFA Champions League broadcast rights secured by TRT in Turkey for 2024-2027 cycle.
Negotiations for the rights were managed by Team Marketing, UEFA’s long-standing partner for media and commercial rights across its club competitions. The bidding process in Turkey commenced in late December, with a deadline set for January 22, attracting significant interest from various broadcasters.
In the current broadcasting cycle (2021-22 to 2023-24), UEFA club competition rights in Turkey were split between subscription streaming service Exxen and free-to-air channel TV8. Prior to this, pay-TV giant beIN Sports (owner of Digiturk) held UEFA Champions League rights from 2018-19 to 2020-21, while Saran Media broadcast the Europa League during the same period. TRT’s successful bid marks a return of these major competitions to public broadcasting, promising wider accessibility for Turkish viewers.
Under the terms of the deal, TRT is committed to showcasing all matches involving Turkish clubs on its flagship channels, TRT 1 and TRT Spor. Furthermore, a vast majority of games will be available on TRT’s new digital platform, Tabii, catering to the evolving media consumption habits of audiences. This season has seen Galatasaray, a prominent Turkish club, competing in the UEFA Champions League group stages, highlighting the strong domestic interest in these competitions.
The conclusion of the UEFA rights deal comes as the Turkish Football Federation (TFF) has also launched its tender for domestic league rights, covering the top-tier Super Lig and the second-tier First Lig for the same 2024-25 to 2026-27 seasons. This tender, with bids due by February 14, will determine the broadcasting landscape for domestic Turkish football alongside the newly secured UEFA club competition rights by TRT. Currently, beIN Sports and Digiturk hold the rights to both leagues under an extension agreement set to conclude at the end of the 2023-24 season. UEFA has also recently launched rights tenders in Romania and for ‘in-ship and in-flight’ broadcasts for the 2024-27 cycle, indicating a busy period for sports broadcasting rights across Europe.