ITV will be the new terrestrial home of the Africa Cup of Nations after securing the broadcast rights for the 2012 tournament.
Four live games will be screened on ITV4 during the course of the competition, which is being co-hosted by Gabon and Equatorial Guinea, and every match will feature in a comprehensive highlights programme on the channel at 10pm each night.
Africa’s showcase football tournament, which kicks-off on January 21st, will be shown by the broadcaster for the first time, and adds to ITV4’s impressive portfolio of sporting events, having recently secured the rights to screen the French Open from the BBC, and additional coverage of the UEFA Europa League.
ITV4 will screen the group stage match between favourites Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso on January 26th, followed by one quarter-final, one semi-final and the Africa Cup of Nations Final on February 12th. Live matches and highlights programmes will also be simulcast on ITV.com.
Many high profile British-based African players have been selected to take part in the 2012 tournament, including Manchester City’s Kolo and Yaya Toure, Arsenal striker Gervinho, and Chelsea’s Didier Drogba.
Commenting on the new deal, ITV’s Controller of Sport Niall Sloane said: “The African Cup of Nations is a major football event with a huge following in the UK and I’m delighted that we’ll be offering viewers free to air live coverage and highlights throughout the tournament on ITV4.”
Further details of ITV’s presentation team and tranmission times will be announced shortly.
The BBC were the previous FTA rights holders for the past decade, but coverage was restricted to just the semi-finals and final during the previous tournament in Angola two years ago.
British Eurosport holds the full broadcast rights to the competition, and will be screening every match live, along with its own comprehensive highlights show and various support programmes.
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