Pan-European broadcaster Eurosport has acquired the exclusive television and digital rights in Germany for the English FA Cup club football knockout competition.
The three-and-a-half year deal is effective from this weekend’s fifth-round matches and concludes at the end of the 2017-18 season.
The contract includes live, delayed, highlights and news rights as well as sublicensing rights.
The matches shown live on Eurosport this weekend will be Aston Villa versus Leicester City and holder Arsenal versus Middlesbrough on Sunday, before Preston North End hosts Manchester United on Monday.
Eurosport also gains exclusive rights to the FA Community Shield – the traditional curtain-raiser to the English season that pits the winners of the Premier League against the FA Cup holder at Wembley Stadium.
Jean-Thierry Augustin, chief executive of the Eurosport Group, said: “This agreement underlines Eurosport’s strategic ability to deliver strong content and key rights on a local level as well as internationally. This deal is another demonstration of our regional approach after the recent signing of the MotoGP rights for the German market.”