CBS to air both Champions League semifinals on national TV
Next week’s UEFA Champions League semifinals will both be available on national TV via the CBS over-the-air channel. On Tuesday, April 30, Bayern Munich plays Real Madrid in the more-anticipated of the two last-four matchups. Then, on May 1, Borussia Dortmund hosts PSG at the Westfalenstadion. Both games are available via the CBS TV channel, making it widely available for American audiences even if viewers do not have Paramount+.
It is worth noting that the second legs of the games have different TV coverage. On Tuesday, May 7, the return leg in Paris between PSG and Borussia Dortmund is streaming exclusively on Paramount+. That said, the game at the Santiago Bernabeu between Real Madrid and Bayern Munich on May 8 is also available on the CBS TV channel. Pregame coverage for the games available on CBS is on the same channel. Likewise, the game on Paramount+ on Tuesday, May 7, has pregame coverage there.
Of course, if you already subscribe to Paramount+ to watch the UEFA Champions League, Serie A or any of its other soccer content, each of the four games in the semifinal stage is available on the platform. Games on the CBS OTA channel are simulcast on Paramount+. That also applies to pregame and postgame coverage, which is fully available on the streaming service.
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CBS mixes up its coverage with Champions League semifinals
While the games on CBS are likely to draw massive viewing audiences in the United States, CBS is looking to change how it covers the fixtures in terms of the studio crew. For this coming Tuesday’s game between Bayern Munich and Real Madrid, Kate Abdo, Thierry Henry, Jamie Carragher and Micah Richards will be in the studio providing analysis. Both Peter Schmeichel and Guillem Balague will be at the Allianz Arena for pitchside coverage.
Then, on Wednesday, CBS changes it around. Joining Abdo, Henry and Richards in the studio, Alessandro del Piero serves as the third analyst. Carragher, meanwhile, will travel to the Signal Iduna Park with Peter Schmeichel. Jamie Carragher has been an admirer of the Yellow Wall at Borussia Dortmund’s home ground throughout this season’s UEFA Champions League.
In terms of commentary pairs on CBS for the first legs next week, Clive Tyldesley and Rob Green have duties for Bayern Munich against Real Madrid. Chris Wittyngham and Ray Hudson will be on the call for the Dortmund-PSG clash.
Over-the-air broadcasts becoming more consistent for CBS
This is the second round in a row during the 2023/24 UEFA Champions League that CBS has put multiple games on its broadcast TV channel. In the quarterfinals, Barcelona-PSG and Manchester City-Real Madrid aired on CBS. That contributed to CBS earning the biggest American audience for a Champions League quarterfinal in history. According to CBS, 1.11 million viewers tuned in for the second leg between Manchester City and Real Madrid. Viewership peaked at 1.58 million viewers across CBS and Paramount+.
It is all but assured that CBS will put the Champions League Final on its broadcast channel later this season. That is what the provider did in both 2023 and 2022. The Manchester City win over Inter Milan scored 2.1 million viewers on CBS. In the prior year, 2.8 million watched Liverpool battle Real Madrid. Even the year before that saw over 2 million people.
Clearly, CBS does not have an issue courting major audiences for the Champions League. Enticing semifinal matchups will look to add to the trend of CBS’s success, even if there are no teams from the most popular domestic league in the United States, the Premier League.
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