Turner Sports is cranking up its plans for sports, announcing not only a deal with UEFA for a three-year multi-platform rights agreement for exclusive rights to the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League beginning with the 2018-19 season, but also an upcoming new standalone premium sports streaming video service with the collection of UEFA matches serving as a core pillar of the direct to consumer offering. The new OTT sports platform will debut in 2018.

Terms of the UEFA deal will see Turner showcase more than 340 UEFA matches per season across the company’s television and digital platforms with matches offered direct to consumers through Turner’s premium OTT sports platform. In addition, Bleacher Report will serve as a portal to the OTT service and the live UEFA matches offered through the new platform. Coverage will include four live telecasts each week throughout the Group Stage on Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 1p and 3p with two televised matches per week during the Knockout Phase.

“The launch of Turner’s new OTT sports platform and partnership with UEFA aligns with the company’s continued strategy to further expand the distribution ecosystem and our ongoing commitment to engage fans with premium content they crave across all platforms,” said David Levy, President, Turner. “These highly-anticipated matches and supplemental original programming will be a key foundation for our latest direct to consumer business sports offering, as well as coveted content for Bleacher Report and our leading television networks. In addition to the new audiences we’ll attract through the streaming service, the partnership will leverage the tremendous reach we have with our television networks and Bleacher Report’s position as the leading digital destination for millennial fans.”