ITV Settles for Highlights Package Deal for Champions League & Europa League

ITV has sealed a three-year deal with UEFA to provide highlights of the Champions League and Europa League from 2015.

The free-to-air broadcaster lost its right to show live coverage of the european showpiece events after BT Sport tied up an exclusive £897m three-year deal, announced on 9 November, and set to run from 2015.

The pay-TV broadcaster – which has pledged to show some matches free-to-air, including the final – will be able to show live all 350 European fixtures per season.

ITV’s new deal will allow it to show highlights of all the week’s Champions League games on a Wednesday night. There will be no separate highlights show on Tuesdays.

The broadcaster will also be able to show Europa League highlights on Thursday nights.

Highlights of both finals and the Super Cup will be on ITV. In addition, highlights of both competitions will be made available on ITV’s website and via mobile.

Niall Sloane, ITV director of sport, said: “We are happy to have secured these highlights packages and to be able to bring them to a significant free-to-air viewership.”

ITV, which has been the free-to-air broadcaster of the Champions League since its inception in 1992, currently shares live rights to the competition with Sky Sports. It shares Europa League live rights with BT Sport and ESPN.

News UK, owner of the Times and Sun newspapers, will share internet and mobile clip rights with BT Sport.