Report: Turner Sports drops Champions League before 2020 Final

When the 2020 Champions League Final — which was postponed until Aug. 23 — occurs at the Estadio da Luz in Lisbon, Portugal, fans living in the United States likely won't watch the match on TNT or any other Turner property.

On Wednesday, John Ourand of Sports Business Journal reported that Turner Sports opted out of its contract with UEFA and, thus, won't air any matches for the tournament that resumes — amid the coronavirus pandemic — with Round of 16 games on Aug. 7.

The competition moves to a single-elimination format when quarterfinals kick off on Aug. 12.

As Ourand noted, CBS already won the English broadcast rights for the Champions League and Europa League competitions and was set to start airing such games in the fall of 2021. While CBS could expand on an already existing deal through whenever the 2020-21 seasons conclude, ESPN+ could also temporarily add Europe's top club knockout tournaments to its catalog of soccer content.

Univision holds the Spanish broadcast rights in the U.S. through 2024.