Irish public-service broadcaster RTÉ has said it is considering sublicensing rights to next summer’s Uefa Euro 2016 national team football tournament.
RTÉ presently holds rights to broadcast all games at the tournament but has confirmed it is open to the possibility of auctioning some packages off to other broadcasters.
RTÉ confirmed that it will open an invitation to tender process on January 5, with a deadline for bids set for January 15. Any sublicensing agreement would need to be approved by the European Broadcasting Union, the consortium of public-service broadcasters, and Uefa, the governing body of European football.
A statement issued by RTÉ stressed that there was no guarantee that any games would be sub-licensed to another broadcaster, saying it was simply seeking expressions of interest and was not obliged to sell.
Ireland will be one of 24 teams competing at Euro 2016 and has been drawn alongside Belgium, Italy and Sweden in Group E. The tournament takes place in France from June 10 to July 10.