3 joins Vodafone in the Champions League

Only room for two UK clubs, sorry, operators this season?

Third-generation mobile operator 3 has followed in the footsteps of rival Vodafone and secured rights to stream video of action from Champions League football games for the next three seasons. Vodafone's deal, announced on Sunday, is non-exclusive in three of the countries where football audience and mobile subscriber numbers are biggest: France, Germany and the UK. In Spain, home of still-Vodafone pin up David Beckham, it holds exclusive rights, while there was no mention of the Italian market, where 3 also has a network up and running. 3, which should in theory be able to deliver better quality video over its more advanced network, pointed out it also offers English Premiership and other league clips. No value was put on the deal. With Champions League matches kicking off this evening, both deals were late to be paraded in front of fans.