BBC, ITV and Sky will fight for the right to show the pick of the week's Champions League fixtures on Wednesday evenings from 2009, in a battle that could cost the winner £50million a year. Broadcasters were told yesterday to submit higher bids for the rights to show the flagship matches after Sky picked up the rights to show all of Tuesday's games and the lesser matches on Wednesdays in a three-year deal worth an estimated £80million annually.

The impending battle underlines the increasing value broadcasters place on live football. The present agreement, in which matches are shared between ITV and Sky, is worth £89million a year, £41million less than the expected total.

With four English teams through to the quarter-finals, the Champions League has never been so popular with viewers. Audiences on ITV1 average 5.9million for matches when an English team are playing - a male-dominated audience sought after by advertisers - while Liverpool's victory over AC Milan in Istanbul in the 2005 final attracted a peak of 14.9million.

Although what remains is only a single match to bid for, a lot more is at stake. Failure for the BBC would mean the loss of top-flight live football and nothing for Gary Lineker to present, once the public broadcaster surrenders the rights to show England and FA Cup matches to ITV from next season. ITV pays £42million a year to show two games on a Tuesday and broadcasters estimate that a single Wednesday game in the present heady environment would go for slightly more, although there was speculation that the eventual sum could be up to £80million a year.

The BBC's interest, though, remains controversial because Uefa requires the broadcaster to carry sponsors' advertisements as part of the package. That has prompted repeated complaints from commercial rivals and the BBC would probably have to pay £10million a year more to compensate European football's governing body.

A clean sweep for Sky would undermine the wish of Michel Platini, the Uefa president, to ensure that there is a free-to-air audience for European club football, although it is expected to bid aggressively. Sky, in which News Corporation, parent company of The Times, has a 39.1 per cent stake, pays £49million a year to show all of Wednesday's matches and the remaining games on Tuesday.

Champions League matches are not protected by the “crown jewels” regulations that require certain sporting events, such as the FA Cup Final, to be on free-to-air television. “Sky always go for the lot,” one senior broadcaster said, “and Uefa may have to find it will not take the highest bid if it is determined to keep the Wednesday match free.” In theory, that leaves ITV well placed, but the commercial broadcaster's resources are stretched after Michael Grade, the chairman, orchestrated the seizure of the FA Cup and England matches and it will struggle to offer much more than the £42million it pays at present.

Five is considered an outside contender. Its cash resources are modest, but it is feeling confident after successfully taking Neighbours from the BBC and RTL, its German parent company, could afford to bankroll a bid that would catapult the broadcaster into the mainstream. Setanta Sports is not thought to be seriously interested.

Sky's successful bid for Tuesday's games was selected less than a week after bids were put in on March 12. Picking it so quickly sent a signal that its bid was much higher than its competitors, which also included Setanta Sports. Uefa described its bid as a “clear winner” and Sky will have the rights to show 130 matches from 2009.