Channel 4 has obtained the broadcasting rights to England’s Nations league and European qualifiers.
The deal will see channel 4 broadcast the next 20 England Men’s games starting with their UEFA Nations League meeting against Hungary in Budapest on June 4th.
The games will be broadcasted on free to air television and made freely accessible to the British public.
Channel 4’s success in sealing the deal with England’s nations leagues further marks its achievement in entering the sports market and expanding its broadcasting services.
In its recent sports market integration, the channel has claimed the broadcasting rights to a multitude of sporting events, including the British and Irish Lions South Africa tour, England’s Test series with India, Ireland rugby union internationals and the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic games.
Channel 4’s CEO, Alex Mahon, said the channel is excited to extend its success after having been named Sports Network of the year at the recent British Sports Journalism Awards.
“As a life-long committed football fan, I am personally so delighted that we have these matches on the channel to further reinforce our reputation as a top-quality sport broadcaster,” Mahon said.
Channel 4’s chief content officer, Ian Katz, said he was happy channel 4 would be broadcasting England matches on free-to-air television.
“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,” Katz said.
The channel’s head of sport, Pete Andrews, said the broadcaster was looking forward to televise games evoking national pride and excitement among its fans.
“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,” Andrews said.
On a side note, Channel 4’s success in the deal, highlights its predecessor, Sky Sport’s, eroding influence over the UEFA national broadcasting rights.
After having aired the most recent Nations League Campaign, Sky Sports submitted further interested in this cycle of games however the broadcasting rights were ultimately awarded to channel 4.
The conformation of Channel 4’s success marks a further blow to Sky Sports international football streaming after the broadcaster was also beaten out by Viaplay in obtaining the UK rights for men’s football.
Nordic Entertainment (Nent) Group-owned streaming service, Viaplay, secured the UK rights to men’s national football teams in Scotland, Wales and Northern Island taking over from Sky Sports current deal in 2024.
The deal will see Viaplay stream over 800 matches including Home Nation’s teams, FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualifiers, EUFA 2028 2028 qualifiers, UEFA Nations League matches and international friendlies.
Nent Group CEO, Anders Jenson, said this marks Viaplay’s biggest deal so far, with the timing of the deal being advantageous to the group as it gives Viaplay the chance to build up a UK consumer base.
“Viaplay’s multi-territory partnerships with rights holders will be a key advantage as we challenge further into the UK sports market,” Jenson said.
He added fans can expect to see high quality streaming once Viaplay takes over the streaming rights in 2024.
