French pay-television broadcaster Canal Plus plans to show Uefa Champions League games on a delayed basis on its free-to-air general entertainment channel Direct 8 from later this month, according to French newspaper Le Figaro.
Direct 8 will show games from midnight on the match days from the next round of fixtures on October 23-24 through to the end of this season, the newspaper said. Direct 8 is also expected to show the Champions League final live.
Last year, Canal Plus acquired one package of 13 first-pick Champions League matches for three seasons, from 2012-13 to 2014-15. So far this season, French viewers have not been able to watch full games on free-to-air television, with pay-television broadcaster Al Jazeera having purchased the other four rights packages for the current three-year cycle.