German commercial broadcaster RTL has agreed a deal for a package of rights to the European football qualifiers for the Uefa Euro 2016 and 2018 Fifa World Cup national team tournaments.
The rights will be exploited via RTL’s pay-television sister channel RTL Nitro and will include at least 20 live games, along with extensive highlights rights to other qualifying matches.
RTL Nitro will broadcast at least eight live games, not including the German national team, from the remaining qualifying schedule for Euro 2016, including the playoff fixtures.
From September 2016, the channel will show a total of 12 matches without German participation from the qualifying campaign for Russia’s World Cup.
Oliver Schablitzki, head of RTL Nitro, said: “Football is a an international sport and more importantly players like Wayne Rooney, Andrés Iniesta and Arjen Robben are well known to the football interested audience in Germany. Here we see our chance, with the European Qualifiers to achieve many new viewers for RTL Nitro and to inspire the young station.”
RTL Nitro’s first game under the deal is set to be the meeting between Slovenia and England on June 14.