German sports broadcaster Sport1 has confirmed the acquisition of rights to the Uefa Europa League for the next three seasons of the European club football competition.
The platform-neutral rights will run from the 2015-16 season of the Europa League through to the end of the 2017-18 campaign.
For the 2015-16 season, Sport1 will broadcast one game per matchday live on free-to-air television as well as via online and mobile livestream at Sport1.de. The deal also includes highlights rights to all Europa League games for use on television, online and on mobile devices.
In the group stage, Sport1 will show one game on each of the six matchdays, and in the knockout phase one home and away game each matchday, plus the final. Sport1 has been granted ‘first pick’ of games for each matchday.
Olaf Schröder, chairman of Sport1, said: “The acquisition of such a major international live right as the Uefa Europa League is a massive boost, not only to our already attractive sports-rights portfolio but also to our sports-media brand. In addition, we are underpinning our strategy of sustainable investment in Sport1 with this long-term co-operation.”
Pay-television broadcaster Sky Deutschland acquired rights in Germany and Austria for the Europa League through a deal struck in December.
The rights will also run for three seasons, from 2015-16 to 2017-18, and will include live coverage of all matches across all platforms, including television, IPTV, online and mobile.
The Team Marketing agency brokers rights deals for the tournament on behalf of Uefa, football’s European governing body.