New names join some familiar faces as the artists formerly known as BT Sport begin their coverage of Champions League football as TNT Sports in September.
The new channel launched in July this year after Warner Bros Discovery bought BT Sport, and with the rebrand now in full swing as broadcasters of the Saturday lunchtime matches in the Premier League, it is time to showcase their marquee event.
BT have owned the rights of the Champions League in the UK since the 2015-16 season, making TNT Sports the new home of European football for a UK audience.
TNT Sports will also broadcast the Europa League and Conference League, and so to ensure a smooth transition, football pundits including Rio Ferdinand, Peter Crouch and Joe Cole are once more at the forefront of their coverage.
There will be a new lead presenter, however, with Jake Humphrey having left BT Sport in May, and it is Laura Woods hosting TNT Sports’ Champions League shows for the new season – where Arsenal, Celtic, Manchester United and Newcastle are all in action.
Woods made her name at Sky Sports and recently led ITV’s coverage of the Women’s World Cup, while she recently left her talkSPORT radio breakfast show in anticipation of this TNT role.
Meanwhile, Reshmin Chowdhury returns to anchor the Champions League matches, while Jules Breach will be the presenter for TNT Sports’ Europa League nights – a competition which features Brighton, Liverpool and West Ham.
With three midweek nights to cover across six rounds of group-stage action before the New Year, beyond England trio Ferdinand, Crouch and Cole, football pundits set to feature include Rachel Brown-Finnis, Owen Hargreaves, Steve McManaman, Joleon Lescott, Michael Owen, Paul Scholes and Robbie Savage.
The commentary team includes Darren Fletcher, Adam Summerton and Lucy Ward, while fan favourite Ally McCoist and Glenn Hoddle are among the co-commentators.
TNT Sports’ group-stage coverage started with Newcastle’s match at AC Milan on 19 September, with reporter Matt Smith on the ground at the San Siro with former Newcastle goalkeeper Shay Given, and Chowdhury in the studio with Jermaine Jenas and Cole. Summerton was on commentary with Hoddle as Newcastle drew 0-0 at Milan.
Ally McCoist: ‘What’s not to love?’
“I mean come on, what is there not to love about it?” McCoist tells i.
In football’s divisive, tribal age it sometimes feels like the presence of McCoist in the commentary booth is the one thing fans can coalesce around.
He invariably garners a positive reaction, a status befitting the nation’s favourite pundit. He demurs when I put that title to him but he does have a Sports Journalism Awards gong to prove it.
McCoist isn’t on social media to lap up the adulation – although grown up sons Alex and Argyll monitor it and keep him in the loop – but reasons that his connection is simply because the ups and downs of four decades in football have done nothing to dint his enthusiasm for the game.
“If I was going to guess at why things are going so well at the moment – and as we’re aware with football all things can change in an instant – I think it’s because the vast majority of fans listening can tell I’m enjoying it,” he says.
“I think I can give a reasonable insight and I won’t kid people on if it’s a bad game but maybe even the bad games I enjoy more than most.”
Read Mark Douglas’ interview with McCoist in full here
Champions League group stage fixtures in full
Matchday 1 – 19 September
- AC Milan vs Newcastle (5.45pm)
- Young Boys vs Leipzig (5.45pm)
- Feyenoord vs Celtic (8pm)
- Lazio vs Atletico Madrid (8pm)
- PSG vs Dortmund (8pm)
- Man City vs Crvena Zvezda (8pm)
- Barcelona vs Antwerp (8pm)
- Shakhtar Donetsk vs Porto (8pm)
20 September
- Galatasaray vs Copenhagen (5.45pm)
- Real Madrid vs Union Berlin (5.45pm)
- Bayern vs Man Utd (8pm)
- Sevilla vs Lens (8pm)
- Arsenal vs PSV Eindhoven (8pm)
- Braga vs Napoli (8pm)
- Benfica vs Salzburg (8pm)
- Real Sociedad vs Inter (8pm)
Matchday 2 – 3 October
- Union Berlin vs Braga (5.45pm)
- Salzburg vs Real Sociedad (5.45pm)
- Man Utd vs Galatasaray (8pm)
- Copenhagen vs Bayern (8pm)
- Lens vs Arsenal (8pm)
- PSV Eindhoven vs Sevilla (8pm)
- Napoli vs Real Madrid (8pm)
- Inter vs Benfica (8pm)
4 October
- Atletico Madrid vs Feyenoord (5.45pm)
- Antwerp vs Shakhtar Donetsk (5.45pm)
- Celtic vs Lazio (8pm)
- Dortmund vs Milan (8pm)
- Newcastle vs PSG (8pm)
- Leipzig vs Man City (8pm)
- Crvena Zvezda vs Young Boys (8pm)
- Porto vs Barcelona (8pm)
Matchday 3 – 24 October
- Galatasaray vs Bayern (5.45pm)
- Inter vs Salzburg (5.45pm)
- Man Utd vs Copenhagen (8pm)
- Sevilla vs Arsenal (8pm)
- Lens vs PSV Eindhoven (8pm)
- Braga vs Real Madrid (8pm)
- Union Berlin vs Napoli (8pm)
- Benfica vs Real Sociedad (8pm)
25 October
- Feyenoord vs Lazio (5.45pm)
- Barcelona vs Shakhtar Donetsk (5.45pm)
- Celtic vs Atletico Madrid (8pm)
- PSG vs Milan (8pm)
- Newcastle vs Dortmund (8pm)
- Leipzig vs Crvena Zvezda (8pm)
- Young Boys vs Man City (8pm)
- Antwerp vs Porto (8pm)
Matchday 4 – 7 November
- Dortmund vs Newcastle (5.45pm)
- Shakhtar Donetsk vs Barcelona (5.45pm)
- Atletico Madrid vs Celtic (8pm)
- Lazio vs Feyenoord (8pm)
- Milan vs PSG (8pm)
- Man City vs Young Boys (8pm)
- Crvena Zvezda vs Leipzig (8pm)
- Porto vs Royal Antwerp (8pm)
8 November
- Napoli vs Union Berlin (5.45pm)
- Real Sociedad vs Benfica (5.45pm)
- Bayern vs Galatasaray (8pm)
- Copenhagen vs Man Utd (8pm)
- Arsenal vs Sevilla (8pm)
- PSV Eindhoven vs Lens (8pm)
- Real Madrid vs Braga (8pm)
- Salzburg vs Inter (8pm)
Matchday 5 – 28 November
- Lazio vs Celtic (5.45pm)
- Shakhtar Donetsk vs Antwerp (5.45pm)
- Feyenoord vs Atletico Madrid (8pm)
- PSG vs Newcastle (8pm)
- Milan vs Dortmund (8pm)
- Man City vs Leipzig (8pm)
- Young Boys vs Crvena Zvezda (8pm)
- Barcelona vs Porto (8pm)
29 November
- Galatasaray vs Man Utd (5.45pm)
- Sevilla vs PSV Eindhoven (5.45pm)
- Bayern vs Copenhagen (8pm)
- Arsenal vs Lens (8pm)
- Real Madrid vs Napoli (8pm)
- Braga vs Union Berlin (8pm):
- Benfica vs Inter (8pm)
- Real Sociedad vs Salzburg (8pm)
Matchday 6 – 12 December
- Lens vs Sevilla (5.45pm)
- PSV Eindhoven vs Arsenal (5.45pm)
- Man Utd vs Bayern (8pm)
- Copenhagen vs Galatasaray (8pm)
- Napoli vs Braga (8pm)
- Union Berlin vs Real Madrid (8pm)
- Inter vs Real Sociedad (8pm)
- Salzburg vs Benfica (8pm)
13 December
- Leipzig vs Young Boys (5.45pm)
- Crvena Zvezda vs Man City (5.45pm)
- Atletico Madrid vs Lazio (8pm)
- Celtic vs Feyenoord (8pm)
- Dortmund vs PSG (8pm)
- Newcastle vs Milan (8pm)
- Porto vs Shakhtar Donetsk (8pm)
- Antwerp vs Barcelona (8pm)
Champions League 2023-24 knockout stage dates
Round of 16: 13/14/20/21 February and 5/6/12/13 March 2024
Quarter-finals: 9/10 and 16/17 April
Semi-finals: 30 April/1 May and 7/8 May
Final: 1 June
Where is the 2024 Champions League final?
The Champions League final will be held at London’s Wembley Stadium on 1 June 2024.
This will be a record eighth time Wembley has played host, and the third within the Champions League era. In 2011, Barcelona beat Manchester United 3-1, and two years later Bayern Munich beat German counterparts Borussia Dortmund 2-1.
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