It appears certain that the Euro 2016 Championships this summer will see shared coverage on TV screens between RTÉ who won the original bid to show them, and TV3.
Sport for Business announced previously that this was likely to be the case and a report in yesterday’s Sunday Times confirmed that TV3 would indeed be showing up to one third of the games, though not those involving the Republic of Ireland or Northern Ireland.
England’s opening game against Russia is believed to be among the 22 matches which will be part of the sharing deal.
Shared TV deals are the norm in larger markets. ITV and the BBC have long shared coverage of major football finals including Previous Euro’s and the World Cup. Those same two also share the RBS Six Nations following a deal that required collaboration to raise enough money to keep them on ‘free to air’ television.
The sharing deal needs to be approved by UEFA and the European Broadcasting Union but with both channels having a strong reputation for standards of sports coverage and being available to a wide audience base that is expected to be forthcoming.
It opens the market up for either a shared broadcast sponsorship across both broadcasters or one that brings in two of the major brands that like to be associated with such events.
Sport for Business understands that no sponsorship proposals have yet been circulated to the Irish market because there is a first refusal option for the headline sponsors of the overall tournament. This gives a period of exclusive negotiation and it is only if there are no takers that it would go wider, including to the FAI’s sponsors that are not tied to the overall tournament.
The main sponsors from whom the broadcast sponsorship could be drawn include Carlsberg, Continental Tyres and McDonalds, all of whom are active TV advertisers. Adidas, Turkish Airlines and Kia Motors are others who are active in Ireland and could be interested in taking out the sponsorship.
If none of those do decide to exercise their option to the broadcast rights then it could open the door to Three who are the main team sponsor, Spar or Bank of Ireland, both of whom have existing relationships with the FAI.
The split coverage will also widen the net for analysts and panellists who will come to prominence. They will be in our living rooms and on our digital devices for a month from June 10th to July 10th and a successful run from the Irish team will generate coverage and support that will be fondly remembered in 25 years, never mind the morning after.
