Broadcasters will share rights after agreement with UEFA
The BBC and ITV have agreed a deal with UEFA for Euro 2024 and Euro 2028.
The broadcasters will continue their usual deal for major men’s international football tournaments, sharing all games equally until a shared final. The pair are also doing this for the Qatar 2022 World Cup that kicks off this month, meaning major tournaments look set to stay free-to-air in the UK for the foreseeable future.
While tournament football is free-to-air in the UK, Viaplay shows non England home nations qualifiers and Nations League matches on its subscription services after a deal agreed earlier this year. Channel 4 airs England’s fixtures in these competitions. A recent report also claimed that almost a quarter of UK fans would be willing to pay to watch the World Cup.
The host and format for Euro 2028 is yet to be decided, but Euro 2024 will take place in Germany with 24 teams competing across 51 matches. 31 million tuned in across the BBC and ITV as England lost to Italy in the final of the last edition of the tournament.
Barbara Slater, director of BBC Sport, said: “The BBC has proven time and again that we have the ability to bring the biggest sporting events to the widest audience. The previous UEFA European Championships were a huge success so we’re delighted that we’ve completed this deal for the next two tournaments that we hope will provide even more memorable moments for viewers.”
Niall Sloane, ITV director of sport, added: “This deal keeps the Euros available on free to air television for viewers for the coming years. Having delivered the biggest ever UK single channel football audience of 27.6 million at last year’s Euros, for England’s semi-final victory over Denmark, we’re looking forward to bringing to the widest audiences the very best coverage of tournaments that have such broad appeal.”
Guy-Laurent Epstein, marketing director at UEFA, commented: “We are very pleased to continue our partnership with ITV and the BBC. Each partner brings in-depth knowledge and expertise to the broadcasting of the UEFA European Football Championship and we look forward to the extensive and excellent coverage for the fans across the UK.”
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