ESPN Snaps Up Europa League Rights
ESPN has secured the rights to broadcast the UEFA Europa League for the next three seasons as it continues its acquisition spree of UK TV rights to bolster its new channel in this country.
Formerly known as the UEFA Cup, the UEFA Europa League will feature some of the biggest clubs from across Europe as they compete to reach the Finals in May each year, starting with Hamburg, Germany in 2010.
Alongside current UEFA Cup holders Shakhtar Donetsk, the UEFA Europa League Group stages will see British sides Celtic, Everton and Fulham competing with likes of Roma, Lazio, Valencia, Werder Bremen, Hamburg, Ajax, PSV, Benfica and Sporting Lisbon.
The group stage includes 48 clubs, 10 of which were eliminated in the playoff round of UEFA Champions League qualifiers. The ties will begin on 17th September and will be broadcast on Wednesday and Thursday nights throughout the season.
As part of the deal, ESPN will serve as host broadcaster for any live home matches featuring British clubs that it selects for broadcast.
In addition to the UEFA Europa League, ESPN’s live football content this season brings sports fans the best football action from around Europe, including 46 Barclays Premier League, 30 Clydesdale Bank Premier League and up to 80 Italian Serie A live matches.
The channel also airs live German Bundesliga, Dutch Eredivisie, Portuguese Liga, Russian Premier League and MLS as well as international sports and a wide-range of premium U.S. sports.
ESPN is available on Sky, Virgin Media, BT Vision, Top Up TV, Tiscali and UPC (in Ireland) after striking a spate of distribution deals.
