Channel Four have secured broadcasting rights for England’s Nations League and UEFA Euro 2024 Qualifying matches between 2022-24 seasons.
This announcement means that all five UK-based terrestrial broadcasters will have broadcast at least one England match across all competitions for the very first time, as Channel 4 kick off their coverage in June with the following four UEFA Nations League matches;
- Hungary v England (4 June)
- Germany v England (7 June)
- England v Italy (11 June)
- England v Hungary (14 June)
Gareth Southgate’s Three Lions will then conclude their Nations League campaign with an away trip to Italy on 23 September, followed by a potential crunch final group clash against Germany at home on 26 September.
Speaking about the opportunity to broadcast England men’s football matches for the very first time, Channel 4’s Head of Sport, Pete Andrews pointed to their rivalry against Germany and desire for revenge on Italy following Euro 2020 Final heartbreak as highlights of the new deal.
Andrews added: “We’re absolutely delighted to have secured this deal with UEFA and I’m sure England fans will be looking forward to the summer with great anticipation.”
Channel 4 will also broadcast live coverage of England’s qualifying matches for 2024 UEFA Euros with the qualifiers set to commence in 2023, following the Qualifying Group Stage draw on 9 October 2022.
Channel 4’s Chief Content Officer, Ian Katz meanwhile has welcomed the addition of “mouth-watering England matches” to their increasingly strong portfolio of sporting rights, which includes Formula E, Formula One and Paralympics.
On how this new sporting addition will affect current programming, Katz commented: “This deal shows Channel 4 can compete for some of the biggest properties in sport and will bring substantial new audiences to our award-winning slate of original programming.”
This announcement will therefore see ITV lose the rights to England’s men matches just months after they acquired broadcast rights for the women’s team, whilst Sky will no longer hold the rights to England’s Nations League matches for the first time.
BBC and ITV though will still hold the main tournament rights to 2022 FIFA World Cup and 2024 UEFA Euros.
Leave a Reply