BBC and ITV agree European Championships deal

Public-service broadcaster the BBC and commercial broadcaster ITV have acquired rights in the UK to the next two editions of the Uefa European Championship national team football tournament.

Under the deal, all 51 matches from Euro 2016 and Euro 2020 will be broadcast live across the BBC and ITV, with coverage on online, digital and mobile services. The deal includes highlights and catch-up television rights.

Euro 2016 will take place in France next summer and will be the first edition of the European Championship to feature 24 nations. England, Wales and Northern Ireland have all qualified for the tournament.

Euro 2020 will be a special edition of the competition and will be hosted across Europe. London’s Wembley Stadium has secured the prized semi-finals and final hosting package for Euro 2020, with the Scottish city of Glasgow also set to host games.

UK listed-events legislation stipulates that the entirety of the European Championships must be shown free-to-air, limiting the number of potential bidders for the rights.