The free-to-air network has won the rights to 20 England fixtures between 2022 and 2024
Hot on the heels of Viaplay's deal to show home nations football involving Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, Channel 4 have acquired the rights to all UEFA matches involving England until 2024, and also international friendlies.
Gareth Southgate's side face UEFA Nations League encounters against the likes of Germany and European champions Italy, among others, over the next couple of years, as well as European qualifiers for Euro 2024. All of that will now be available on Channel 4. In total, Channel 4 will broadcast 20 live England matches between 2022 and 2024.
As well as these high stakes clashes, the Three Lions will play a number of international friendlies which will also be available on the free-to-air network.
It means more bad news for Sky Sports who miss out on England international football, and ITV who have traditionally shown Three Lions matches. However, this winter's Qatar World Cup will still be exclusively available on ITV and the BBC.
This news, coupled with that of the Viaplay deal, signals a huge shift in the ownership of home nations international football rights in the UK. Fans will no doubt already be speculating about which commentators and pundits the two new rights-holders will employ as part of their coverage.
The move also marks the first time that England matches from the UEFA Nations League will be available on free-to-air television, having been previously exclusively available on Sky Sports.
Channel 4’s Chief Content Officer Ian Katz said:
“After bringing some of the biggest sporting moments of last year to the nation, I’m delighted that Channel 4 will be airing so many mouth-watering England matches on free-to-air television."
“This deal shows Channel 4 can compete for some of the biggest properties in sport and will bring substantial new audiences to our award-winning slate of original programming.”
Channel 4 continues to increase its sports portfolio, having picked up the rights to British & Irish Lions rugby, England's test cricket tour of India and the 2020 Paralympic Games, in recent years. The free-to-air channel is clearly hoping to bring in new viewers by bolstering its offering through sports coverage.
England football fans will be delighted to see more elite football on their screens on free-to-air television, especially those unable or unwilling to fork out for expensive subscriptions to Sky Sports and BT Sport.
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