BBC & ITV announce Womens World Cup rights
The BBC and ITV
have agreed a deal with FIFA to broadcast the Women's World Cup in the UK, five
weeks before the tournament begins.
FIFA president
Gianni Infantino had threatened a European TV blackout if rights
offers were not improved.
But the deal with
football's governing body will allow domestic viewers to watch matches when the
tournament begins in Australia and New Zealand.
European champions
England first play in Brisbane on 22 July against Haiti.
All 64 matches from
the tournament will be broadcast in the UK on either the BBC or ITV, except for
the final on 20 August, which will be shown across both BBC One and ITV1.
The BBC will also
broadcast live audio commentary on BBC Radio 5 Live and 5 Sports Extra, with
fans able to listen to 5 Live coverage on BBC Sounds, DAB radio and the BBC
Sport website and app.
Barbara Slater,
director of BBC Sport, said: "We have shown every Women's World Cup on the
BBC since 1999 and we are happy to extend our partnership with FIFA for the
upcoming tournament.
"The growth of
the women's game is extraordinary, demonstrated by the 28 million who watched
BBC coverage of the 2019 Women's World Cup and the huge audience of 17.4
million who watched our coverage of the Euro 2022 final last summer on TV.
"In
partnership with ITV, we are delighted to make this World Cup available to the
widest possible audience and free to air."
ITV will show
coverage of half of the tournament's matches across ITV1 and ITV4 with
simulcast and catch-up on ITVX.
Niall Sloane, ITV
director of sport, said: "We're delighted to be able to bring
comprehensive coverage of the Women's World Cup, free to air to our audiences
with both live and highlights broadcasts across ITV and ITVX.
"This
tournament promises to provide memorable moments with the popularity of women's
football continuing to grow."
The BBC and ITV
have partnered with the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), an alliance of
public service media organisations, for the deal.
FIFA said it had
agreed with the EBU to "extend their existing media right
partnership", which ensures the Women's World Cup will be shown on
free-to-air linear TV across 34 European territories.
World football's
governing body added the deal includes "a substantial additional
commitment to the regular transmission of women's football content beyond the
tournament".
"FIFA is
delighted to widen the deal with the European Broadcasting Union for the
transmission of the upcoming Women's World Cup to include the five major
markets within their existing networks, namely France, Germany, Italy, Spain
and the United Kingdom, as well as Ukraine, thus ensuring maximum exposure for
the tournament," Infantino said.
"As part of
this agreement, the EBU has committed to working towards broadcasting at least
one hour of weekly content dedicated to women's football on its own digital
platform and broadcaster network."