Channel 4 Nets Women’s Euro 2017 Rights

17 Nov 2016 | tshego

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Channel 4 has secured the broadcast rights in the UK to UEFA’s 2017 Women’s European Championship next summer.

Under the terms of the deal, the free-to-air broadcaster will show most of the major games and all of the matches featuring England and Scotland. The tournament will be the first live international football event to be shown on the channel.

The broadcaster outbid the BBC to win the rights for the finals which will start in the Netherlands next July.

England and Scotland will meet in their opening game live on Channel 4 after they were drawn in the same group alongside Spain and Portugal.

The BBC broadcast last year’s Women’s World Cup and aired the Euro 2013 tournament in Sweden, with the broadcaster said to be “disappointed” to lose the television rights.

Stephen Lyle, Channel 4’s commissioning editor for sport, commented: “We’re thrilled to have secured the 2017 UEFA Women’s Euros on Channel 4. With Scotland there for the first time and England’s Lionesses at the top of their game, I believe this tournament is going to be one of the sporting highlights of the summer.”

Of the 16 teams in the tournament, Scotland are currently ranked 11th while England’s Lionesses are ranked third behind the current holders Germany and second placed France.

The 2017 tournament opens on 16th July with the host nation, the Netherlands, taking on Norway.