A few months ago, Canal+ acquired exclusive rights to broadcast all UEFA Champions League, UEFA Youth League and UEFA Super Cup matches in the 2024/25, 2025/26 and 2026/27 seasons. For the purposes of the new sports rights, the broadcaster has obtained licences from the National Broadcasting Council to broadcast the following channels: Canal+ Extra 1, Canal+ Extra 2, Canal+ Extra 3, Canal+ Extra 4 and Canal+ 360.
Champions League matches will be broadcast on Canal+ Extra 1 (24/7), event channels Canal+ Extra 2, Canal+ Extra 3, Canal+ Extra 4 (available via satellite and internet), Canal+ Extra 5, Canal+ Extra 6, Canal+ Extra 7 (available via internet) and Canal+ 360. The latter channel will replace Canal+ Familia. The National Broadcasting Council could issue an appropriate decision as early as September. Canal+ Extra 1-4 stations will launch on August 20, and Canal+ Extra 5-7 on October 1.
You will have to pay extra for the Champions League
Until now, Champions League matches were shown on Polsat Sport Premium 1 and Polsat Sport Premium 2, which were withdrawn from the offer at the end of June. The stations were offered as part of the “Mistrzowska Piłka” package. Its rules state that the promotion was valid only until June 30.
Following the acquisition of the Champions League rights, Canal+ has changed its package offering. The Super Sport package with Canal+ Extra channels can be activated for PLN 20 per month (with a commitment option) and used free of charge until the end of August this year. In the non-committal option, the Super Sport package is offered for PLN 30 per month. The prerequisite for using Super Sport for new and existing customers is to have a television package with Canal+ channels. The main Canal+ online package (Canal+ Super Sport) now costs PLN 69. If someone uses the Canal+ package (without Champions League), which is no longer sold to new customers, they can upgrade their package to Canal+ Super Sport for an additional PLN 15 per month.
Has the Competition and Consumer Protection Office received any complaints regarding the increase in Champions League fees? – Several complaints of this kind have been received against Canal+ Polska. Consumers complain that they have to pay more for access to broadcasts of Champions League matches than when they watched them as part of the Champions League package on the Cyfrowy Polsat channels. – informs Wirtualnemedia.pl Kamila Guzowska, senior specialist of the UOKiK press team.
Canal+ Extra channels will only be available via Canal+, Canal+ online and pay TV providers that have signed up to Canal+ Extra. So far, only the Toya cable network has signed an agreement on this matter. A Canal+ spokesperson recently told Wirtualnemedia.pl that agreements are being reached with all major players. However, there are no negotiations with the competitive digital platform Polsat Box. Canal+ Sport 3 and 4 channels with PKO BP Estraklasa have also been guaranteed to be available until the end of June. Have there been any complaints about the disappearance of Canal+ Sport 3 and 4? – Regarding the withdrawal of the PKO BP Ekstraklasa games offer from Canal+ channels on the Polsat Box, no signal has been received so far – says Guzowska, from the Competition and Consumer Protection Office.
Many complaints about media services to the Competition and Consumer Protection Office
After reviewing the complaints, the President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection decides whether to initiate appropriate proceedings. He will then assess whether a violation of the law has occurred. If this is the case, he may appeal to companies to change their policies or initiate proceedings that may result in a fine of up to 10% of annual turnover.
Poles often complain to the Competition and Consumer Protection Office. For example, the Office has received several complaints from customers dissatisfied with the merger of Play and UPC Polska. They complain, among other things, about the poorer quality of Internet or television services. The company claims that since the merger it has not received any more complaints from customers, including on its hotline. A year ago, the Competition and Consumer Protection Office also registered several complaints against Netflix and its cooperating operators regarding restrictions on sharing accounts with people outside the household. The complaints arose despite regulations prohibiting password sharing.
Processes often take several months or even several years. Since 2021, the Competition and Consumer Protection Office has received around 80 complaints about the streaming service Viaplay. These concerns include technical issues and complaint rejections. The office has not yet decided whether to fine the platform.
At the beginning of the year, we reported on around 300 complaints received by the Competition and Consumer Protection Office relating to Vectra price increases based on the inflation clause. The operator has removed controversial provisions from new customer contracts. Earlier last year, the chairman of the Competition and Consumer Protection Office imposed a fine of PLN 22.23 million on the operator for the increases during the 2019-2020 contract period.
