Germany's two leading public service broadcasters, ARD and ZDF, have successfully acquired domestic rights to the 2028 UEFA European Championship national teams competition. The deal was facilitated by SportA, the joint sports rights agency of both broadcasters.
The agreement grants media rights to all Euro 2028 matches, which will be hosted in the UK and Ireland. This includes all Germany matches if the country qualifies for the competition as anticipated.
This acquisition follows a tender process that saw ARD and ZDF emerge victorious once again. They are known for sharing broadcasting rights in Germany for major international soccer tournaments.
History of successful partnerships
ARD and ZDF were also responsible for free-to-air broadcasts during Euro 2024 held on German soil. Deutsche Telekom and commercial broadcaster RTL also held broadcasting rights for last year’s tournament.
Under an agreement reached in 2023, these public service broadcasters, ARD and ZDF, already hold the domestic rights to all matches involving the German national team until 2028. This comprehensive coverage includes UEFA Nations League matches, preparation games for major tournaments, qualifying matches for both the FIFA World Cup scheduled to take place across Mexico, US and Canada in 2026 and also qualifying games leading up to Euro 2028.
This deal ensures that German football fans will have extensive access to their national team's performances over the next several years.During previous cycles of broadcasting right ownerships, ARD and ZDF shared German fixtures outside major tournaments with RTL.
Challenges ahead
Despite ARD and ZDF having broadcasted the 2022 men’s World Cup in Qatar, along with many previous editions of soccer’s showpiece tournament, ZDF director-general Norbert Himmler has stated that acquiring full live rights to the upcoming tournaments will be challenging.
He cited an increase in games (and consequently higher fees FIFA will likely demand) as a key obstacle. As such, he suggested that they would only be able to secure these rights "with other partners in Germany."
It is worth noting that ARD and ZDF also aired live coverage of the previous Women's World Cup held across Australia and New Zealand back in 2023.
