ITV and Sky strike deals for European qualifiers

UK commercial broadcaster ITV has acquired live rights for England national football team qualifying matches for Uefa Euro 2016 and the 2018 Fifa World Cup, while UK pay-television broadcaster BSkyB has agreed live rights deals for the tournaments’ qualifying games featuring the Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland national teams.

ITV has acquired live rights to all of England’s home and away qualifying matches under the four-year deal, from 2014 to 2017. The deal also includes the rights to broadcast 20 qualifying games not featuring England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland or the Republic of Ireland on digital-terrestrial channel ITV4.

Sky’s deal includes live rights to all qualifiers featuring Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, as well as highlights of every England qualifier over the same four-year period.

Sky, which will show up to 500 qualifying matches – including some not featuring Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland or the Republic of Ireland – over the duration of the deal, will also show live coverage of any England qualifiers that take place away at the other UK home nations or the Republic of Ireland.

ITV and Sky agreed their deals with the CAA Eleven agency.

CAA Eleven is selling the global rights for the matches under a deal agreed by the agency last year with football’s European governing body, Uefa.