The UEFA Champions League Final between Chelsea and Man City on Saturday night will make the farewell for now in terms of coverage of Tommy Martin and the team at Virgin Media.
The station announced back in March that they had been unsuccessful in bidding for their Wednesday night rights and those to the Final, despite bidding higher than had been the case for the current three-year cycle ending tomorrow.
Tuesday night games will remain on RTÉ though for at least the next three years. It has extended its UEFA Champions League rights from 2021- 2024 with 16 live matches on Tuesday nights each season and has added the Final and Tuesday night highlights.
These extended rights will offer comprehensive coverage to the audience as the goals and key moments from all games across the competition will be delivered each Tuesday night. Audiences will also see competition draws for the group and knockout stages as part of the agreement.
News of the Wednesday night rights has yet to be announced though Premier Sports are understood to be in discussion about adding them to their package available on Sky Sport’s Premium offering in Ireland.
“Bringing Irish audiences the best sporting action free-to-air remains core to RTÉ Sport’s mission,” said Head of Sport Declan McBennett.
“The UEFA Champions League is recognised across the world as the premier club competition sharing amazing moments with supporters and showcasing global superstars. We are delighted to not only retain but to extend our UEFA Champions League rights ensuring the Irish audience continues to enjoy the competition free-to-air.”
“RTÉ Sport has a long-standing and highly valued relationship with both UEFA and TEAM Marketing which we will look forward to building on. The acquisition of these hugely important rights adds significantly to our sports portfolio and the delivery of top-class sport to Irish audiences.”
“UEFA is delighted to be continuing its long-standing partnership with RTE in the Republic of Ireland into the 21-24 cycle,” added Guy-Laurent Epstein, UEFA Marketing Director.
“The renewal ensures Irish football fans will continue to benefit from RTE’s high-quality coverage of the best of European club football.”
This latest broadcast rights agreement adds to the recent acquisition of Six Nations rights and joins the UEFA Euros, Tokyo Olympic Games, GAA Championships, Irish horse racing and the EuroHockey Championships as RTÉ’s primary free-to-air rights for 2021.
RTÉ and UEFA are among more than 250+ members of the Sport for Business network of sporting and business organisations working together across a number of key areas.
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