BBC and ITV have agreed a deal with UEFA to screen live coverage of the the next two European Football Championships.
The two-tournament deal ensures live free-to-air coverage for every match from the respective tournaments.
All 51 matches from Euro 2016 and Euro 2020 will be broadcast live across the BBC and ITV, with coverage on each network’s respective online, digital and mobile services.
Next summer’s tournament will take place in France, while the 2020 event will be hosted in 13 cities across the continent, with the semi-finals and final to take place at Wembley.
The deal also includes highlights and catch-up TV rights for both channels, as well as live radio commentaries on BBC Radio 5 live, ensuring fans in the UK will have unparalleled access to every game on TV, radio, online and other digital platforms.
Both the BBC and ITV made there own announcements regarding coverage of Euro 2016 and Euro 2020 over the weekend, with confirmation coming from the governing body in the following days that its long-term UK broadcast partners would once again split coverage of the next two tournaments.
With England, Wales and Northern Ireland having qualified for next summer’s competition in France and the multi-nation 2020 tournament stopping at both Hampden and Wembley, football fans will be pleased that the competition will remain free-to-air on terrestrial television.
“We are delighted to reach an agreement with the UK’s leading free-to-air broadcasters ITV and BBC,” said Guy-Laurent Epstein, marketing director of UEFA Events SA, when commenting on the deal.
“Both partners have in-depth experience of broadcasting the UEFA European Football Championship,”
“Of course it is great news for English, Welsh and Northern Irish fans, who will be able to follow their respective teams’ performance at UEFA EURO 2016 in an unrivalled manner through BBC and ITV’s cutting-edge coverage.
“Finally, yet importantly, this deal adds to the coverage and in-tournament excitement for UEFA EURO 2020, where the UK will host a total seven matches: four in Glasgow, both semi-finals and the final taking place in London at Wembley.
“All in all, this is a very positive agreement for all football fans in the UK.”
France 2016 will be the first UEFA European Championship to feature 24 nations, with England, Northern Ireland and Wales having all qualified, while Republic of Ireland could also be competing next summer, if they beat Bosnia-Herzegovina in a play-off this November.
BBC and ITV will confirm their live match selections for Euro 2016 following the group stage draw in December. As the BBC has first pick of matches at Euro 2012, ITV will this time have first preference for next summer’s tournament.
Wembley Stadium will play host to the semi-finals and final in 2020, with Glasgow, Dublin, Amsterdam, Munich, Bilbao, Bucharest, Budapest, Copenhagen, Brussels, St Petersburg, Rome and Baku making up the other host cities.
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