Estonian public-service broadcaster ERR has agreed a deal for a package of national team football rights marketed by European governing body Uefa through a partnership with the Estonian Football Association (EJL).
ERR has secured rights to the European Qualifiers for the Euro 2020 and 2022 Fifa World Cup tournaments, the 2018-19 and 2020-21 Nations League competitions and other international matches.
It has also landed a secondary package relating to the Euro 2020 championship, which will take place in cities across Europe.
The Postimees.ee website said the agreement is worth €1.2m ($1.4m), nearly three times as much as contracts signed for previous rights packages.
It added that with a total sports rights budget of €1.2m, under which it also has to broadcast other events, ERR needed a partner to seal the deal. It has therefore entered into an agreement through which the EJL will provide up to €950,000 of the funds needed.
Chief television sports editor at ERR, Rivo Saarna, said such an agreement is unprecedented. Saarna added: “We have a contract with the association for €950,000, which does not mean they will necessarily contribute as much. That is the maximum amount.”
EJL president Aivar Pohlak said the association has five years to secure the funds. “However, even if we look at it in yearly instalments, the sum is unprecedented,” he added.
CAA Eleven, Uefa’s exclusive marketing agency for the sale of certain media and commercial rights relating to its national team competitions, launched a tender in Estonia in May, with deadlines for bids having been set at June 22.