Ofcom has given its consent to a request from the BBC and ITV to broadcast exclusive live coverage of the UEFA European Football Championship Finals Tournaments in 2024 and 2028 (“the Tournaments”).
We consulted between 12 April and 10 May 2024 on requests from the BBC and ITV for consent to broadcast exclusive live coverage of the 2024 and 2028 UEFA European Football Championship Finals Tournaments. The 2024 Tournament is due to take place in Germany from Friday 14 June until Sunday 14 July 2024. The 2028 Tournament is due to take place across England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland in June and July 2028, with exact dates yet to be confirmed.
The UEFA European Football Championship Finals Tournament is designated as a Group A listed event. Under the Broadcasting Act 1996, Ofcom’s consent is needed for exclusive live coverage of listed events.
For the 2024 Tournament, the BBC and ITV each plan to broadcast 25 matches exclusively, with both broadcasters showing the final. The BBC plans to broadcast live coverage of its matches predominantly on BBC One or BBC Two, but may show matches on BBC Four where there are scheduling clashes. The BBC has also acquired the rights to broadcast live radio coverage of the Tournament.
ITV plans to broadcast live coverage of its matches principally on ITV1, with this also being broadcast across the Channel 3 network, which includes UTV (in Northern Ireland) and STV (in Scotland). It also plans to broadcast a small number of matches on ITV4 where there are scheduling clashes. It therefore applied on behalf of the relevant licensees for these services.[1]
The BBC and ITV anticipate similar arrangements for broadcasting the 2028 Tournament and have requested Ofcom’s consent to broadcast live coverage on that basis, committing to update Ofcom if there are any significant changes to arrangements ahead of the 2028 Tournament.
Our consultation explained that we were minded to grant consent to the BBC and ITV for the 2024 and 2028 Tournaments, with consent for the broadcast of live coverage of the 2028 Tournament on any BBC or ITV qualifying service. We also noted our provisional view that broadcasters of both “qualifying” and “non-qualifying” services (for the purposes of the Listed Events regime) had an opportunity to acquire the rights to live coverage of the Finals on fair and reasonable terms.
We received one response to the consultation from an individual, which stated that they were in favour of the proposed exclusive coverage by the BBC and ITV.
We have decided to grant consent to the BBC and ITV to broadcast exclusive live coverage of the Tournaments, noting that the coverage plans secure that the Tournaments are available to view live and for free by audiences across the UK.
[1] The licensees for ITV1 are ITV Broadcasting Limited and ITV Breakfast Broadcasting Limited. The licensees for UTV and STV are UTV Limited, STV Central Limited and STV North Limited. The licensee for ITV4 is ITV2 Limited.