2021-22 Champions League: Italy, the only country in the Top 5 with 1 free-to-air game per matchday

The group stage of the 2021-22 Champions League, which begins on Tuesday 14/09/2021, will be accessible only on pay-TV channels or platforms in the countries of the European Top 5 (Germany, Spain, France, Italy, United Kingdom), with the exception of one game per matchday in Italy (Tuesday's top fixture), which will be broadcast by Canale 5 (free-to-air channel belonging to the privately-owned group Mediaset). This is the second consecutive cycle (2018-2021 and 2021-2024) in which Italy is the only country in the European Top 5 to offer a free-to-air match (excluding the final).

In terms of TV rights, however, Italy is the lowest contributor of the European Top 5 with an estimated €230m per season over the 2021-2024 cycle. This ranking is dominated by the United Kingdom (£400m/€470m per season, official amount including the Europa League and the Europa Conference League, +1.5%), ahead of France (€375m per season, +16%), Germany (€340m per season, +70%) and Spain (€325m per season, amount including the Europa League and the Europa Conference League, -10%).

This new cycle is also…