Channel 4 win live England rights

IN THE week MPs formally started the process of privatisation, Channel 4 has won the fight to host England’s European Championship qualifiers. It means the channel will now broadcast all of England’s upcoming qualifying matches, having already secured the rights to the UEFA Nations League campaign involving games against Germany, Italy and Hungary this summer. The draw for the qualifying round of the 2024 European Championship, which will take place in Germany, is scheduled for Frankfurt on October 9. The matches will then be played between March 2023 and 2024. Channel 4 have made significant inroads into the world of sports broadcasting, landing events such as the 2019 Cricket World Cup win for England, Emma Raducanu’s US Open final and the Formula 1 finale in Abu Dhabi last season.

Longer term projects have included Channel 4 Racing and the Paralympics. Yet to have the bulk of England’s games in World Cup year — before and after the 2022 tournament in Qatar — is seen as a huge coup, with ITV no longer England’s home, as it has been since 2017. The Football Association claim to be relaxed about the switch, despite suggestions UEFA have sold the rights for less than could have been received if negotiated independently.