The sub-licensing deal in Austria between pay-TV heavyweight Canal Plus and public-service broadcaster ORF - covering European soccer's top-tier UEFA Champions League - has been extended.
Through a tie-up unveiled today, ORF secures highlights rights - for a second season running - to UCL action, with the group stages of this year's Champions League beginning next week, on September 16.
The ORF 1 channel will, following the first matchday of action, show "all the goals and the best moments" next Thursday evening.
The Canal Plus Action channel will also offer highlights.
Canal Plus holds UCL live rights in Austria for the 2024-25 to 2026-27 cycle through a deal unveiled in late 2022.
The tie-up, which gives the pay-TV broadcaster rights to the first-pick UCL game each Wednesday night throughout the tournament, also covers the second-tier Europa League and third-tier Conference League competitions.
There are no Austrian teams that have made it through to the group stages of this season's UCL, Red Bull Salzburg having been eliminated in the third qualifying round by Belgium's Club Brugge.
Individual players who could feature for other clubs include David Alaba at Spanish giants Real Madrid, Marcel Sabitzer at Borussia Dortmund, and Konrad Laimer at Bayern Munich.
Roland Weißmann, director general at ORF, has said: "Cooperations in sports rights make sense when fans benefit from them – and that's exactly the case with this partnership with rights holder Canal+."
In terms of recent ORF activity, late last week the broadcaster and Red Bull-owned commercial network Servus TV agreed on a co-operative sub-licensing deal for the 2026 FIFA World Cup and 2028 UEFA European Championships (with Austria hoping to be involved at both of these national team tournaments).
Thomas Trukesitz, Canal Plus' head of sports for Austria, has said: "Our exclusive rights position allows us to show Austrian fans the best UEFA Champions League matches live on Canal+.
“At the same time, we are building on a proven partnership with ORF to present all matches and goals in a compact highlights show."
