Champions League on Canal + vs Polsat Box

CANAL+ vs Polsat Box, or how it is and what it was like with Champions League broadcasts

1. The price of the service with access to the Champions League

Today a new client CANAL+which he wants to get access to the UEFA Europa League broadcasthe has to pay anyway PLN 65 / month and by concluding a contract/commitment for at least 12 months. Without such a commitment, this is a sum PLN 69 per month (access via CANAL+ online). A current CANAL+ customer can purchase the Super Sport option for PLN 20 / month. until the end of the specified contract period or included in the price PLN 30 / month without responsibility.

CANAL+ subscribers who have watched so far Champions Leaguehave been removed (unless they pay extra), as broadcasts from the 2024/25 season are available on CANAL+ extranot forward Polsat Sports Premium. It is true that the contracts included a provision that only Polsat Sport Premium channels were guaranteed until June 30, 2024 (this entry was also on the website), but there are voices that this information was not presented well. In addition, the package with Polsat Sport Premium channels was often included in contracts as a package for PLN 0, which means that subscribers – despite CANAL + without these channels – still pay the same amount as they don’t have the Champions League. Would they choose the same subscription fee knowing they wouldn’t get the Champions League at that price? In many cases, probably not. Of course, contracts must be read before they are signed, but due to possible complaints, the Competition and Consumer Protection Office can investigate whether any misrepresentation has been made, whether the provide information in a transparent manner, and whether any issues are important. the client was abandoned before the contract was concluded.

How much did you have to pay to get into the Champions League? Polsat box? The cheapest option was to buy a Polsat Box Go Sport package at Polsat Box Go, included in the price PLN 40 per month and without any contract/obligation. Satellite TV / IPTV and Internet OTT were slightly more expensive, as these channels were only offered as an extra option, so they were the cheapest PLN 50 / month (the cheapest package for PLN 30 / month plus the Polsat Sport Premium option PLN 20 / month) on satellite TV/IPTV (with contract) or PLN 60 / month (the cheapest package for PLN 30 / month plus the Polsat Sport Premium option PLN 30 / month) on OTT Internet TV (with or without a contract).

There has been a change in the Polsat Box that the customer has access to the Polsat Sport Premium channels on the Champions League instead of the Champions League Europa League and Conference League (and moreover – unchanged – to many other broadcasts). It is worth noting here that contracts with CANAL +, Polsat Box and other operators do not apply to content broadcast on TV channels – this content may change. Although if the consultant encourages you to sign a contract using certain content, eg access to the Champions League, without telling you that these broadcasts are not guaranteed until the end of the contract, the customer has the right to complain put in.

2. Access to Champions League channels

You should start with the fact that there are channels Polsat Sports Premium available both in Polsat Box and CANAL + offers, and channels CANAL+ extra available on CANAL+, but not available on Polsat Box. When it comes to cable/IPTV/OTT networks, yes Vectra (and other related networks) and TOYA they didn’t offer channels with the Champions League, and now they are, then Play/UPC i Netia on the other hand – they had the Champions League, and now they don’t have it. Orange in the IPTV version there were no channels from LM, there are still no channels 😉 These are only selected examples.

3. Champions League on traditional TV vs online

Telewizja Polsat offered all 6 channels Polsat Sports Premium (2 full format and 4 occasional) in the form of traditional TV channels, while CANAL+ offers only 4 channels CANAL+ extra (including the only full-format channel – CANAL + Extra 1), and the other 3 will be available only on the Internet.

The formula of the Champions League competition has changed – until the end of the 2023/24 season, only 6 matches were broadcast at the same time, and from the 2024/25 season it is. 7 transmissions at the same time. CANAL+ solved this in such a way that one of the matches is shown on the channel only CANAL+ 360 (until recently named CANAL + Family) and this is the only game that can be watched TVP; 3 on traditional channels (CANAL+ 1-3 more) and 3 on online-only channels (CANAL+ 5-7 more – starting from the 2nd round). CANAL+ 4 more reserved for the multi-league. This means that of the 18 games in each round (excluding the 1st), traditional television shows only 12 games, i.e. two-thirds – the rest, i.e. a third is shown online only. This was in Polsat Sport Premium 100% of games on traditional TValthough they may also be viewed online.

4. Pre-match studies for the Champions League

In Polsat Sport Premium studio before the first match in the Champions League at 18:45 Started at 18:00 (before that even from 17:00), and in CANAL + Extra there is no such studio at all, but from 17 :30 yes “Champions Club” works as a notification program, available on CANAL + 360, not on CANAL + Extra.

W CANAL + extra pre-game studio starting at 19:30 – at the same time as before on Polsat, but then it was available on Polsat Sport 2 (on Polsat Sport Premium 1 only from 20:35). In CANAL+, though advertisements on the CANAL+ websitepre- and post-match reviews, or the highlights magazine are not available on CANAL + 360 (but the “free” highlights magazine can be seen on TVP on Wednesdays at 11:00 p.m. – except for ‘ first round, which is on Thursday ). Shortcuts Magazine in CANAL + available on CANAL + Extra 1 Tuesdays and Thursdays at 23:00. In Polsat, the highlights magazine was broadcast only on the top channel (at 23:30 on Polsat Sport Premium 1, after the studio from 22:50).

In addition to journalism, the studies at Polsat Sport Premium had an entertainment aspect, including corners Music of the Master i Kitchen of Championswhich not everyone liked.

5. Advertisements for the Champions League

Just before the start of the UEFA Champions League matches CANAL+ broadcasts a 30-second broadcast ad block. At first, he was broadcasting the ad during the anthem or the presentation of team captains, but after complaints from viewers, he moved the ad so as not to disturb important moments before the first whistle.

There were no commercials on the Polsat Sport Premium channels, especially when the Champions League football matches were broadcast. They are available on CANAL + Extra channels not only just before the first whistle, but also during and after the match.

6. Blackouts in connection with Champions League broadcasts

Due to the lack of sufficient satellite capacity to broadcast 3 CANAL channels + 2-4 more from time to time, the channels are switched off when the Champions League matches are broadcast CANAL+ 4K Ultra HD i teleTOON+. CANAL+ 4K Ultra HD is transmitted from transponder no. teleTOON+ is available from tp. 13 (11.449 GHZ, Poland H, SR: 27500, FEC: 5/6; S2/8PSK), where CANAL + Extra 4 also appears.

In the Polsat Box, a similar situation occurred only at first, when it was turned off Eleven sports 1 4K. In September 2022, from time to time Polsat Sport Premium 3-6 PPV channels were transferred to other receivers, which led to the end of Eleven Sports 1 4K channels in the Polsat Box (this situation did not affect subscribers approval CANAL +, because Eleven Sports 1 4K was also broadcast separately from the CANAL+ transponder).

7. Multiliga for Champions League

Every game day at 9:00 am CANAL+ 4 more suitable Multiple UEFA Champions League. This is new compared to what Polsat offered. Until now, a type of multi-league could be obtained in the online service CANAL + – by choosing 4 Polsat Sport Premium channels in the Multi-Live option. This is, of course, still possible for CANAL + Extra channels. Multi-Live in CANAL+ online only works on web browsers, Android, iOS and select Android TV and Apple TV devices.

8. Quality of Champions League broadcasts

Even if CANAL+ switches off up to 2 channels during the transmission of Champions League matches, including the UHD channel, the video bitrate – for example CANAL + Extra 1 – is lower compared to the of ee Polsat Sport Premium 1. On the satellite it is on average around 11 Mbit/s against 15 Mbit/s, ie a few megabits of difference to the detriment of CANAL+ Extra. In the past, Polsat has been mocked on the internet for creating “Super HD”, but it must be admitted that it is indeed a super quality for an HD channel. The quality of the Champions League broadcast on CANAL + Extra, although slightly worse than on Polsat Sport Premium, is still rated high.

When it comes to the quality of the online broadcast of the Champions League, CANAL+ imposes certain restrictions on devices with a low level of Widevine DRM security system – the so-called L3 width. For example, on Android boxes without Widevine L1 (the highest level for this DRM), the quality of the stream drops from 1080p to … 540 p. There have never been such restrictions and Polsat Box Go does not, so Champions League viewers did not have to worry about seeing lower quality games on cheaper boxes. There is a similar limitation to CANAL+ online on the Max platform – although there was no such limitation in Player.

9. Additional features for Champions League broadcasts

Polsat offered Box Go for Champions League matches statistical method – it was a separate stream with a semi-transparent overlay in Polish, providing additional information, including: about the game, competition, team, players, eg ownership on the ball, fouls, shots or team composition. However, it is available on CANAL+ online expert mode (Expert Mode) – full flow of information such as statistics, schedule, team composition, results and highlights. So we can say that the viewer is pampered.

As a spokesperson in the field of football, I will not comment on the substantive value of the information that pundits, studio guests or commentators share with viewers, but I encourage a wide discussion on any topic related to Champions League broadcasts 🙂