The Italian TV network, Sky Italia has extended its exclusive media rights deal with the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), the governing body of football in Europe.
With this agreement, the TV network has obtained exclusive rights to all 342 UEFA Conference League (UECL) and UEFA Europa League (UEL) games in addition to 185 of the 203 UEFA Champions League (UCL) games over the three-year period 2024–2027.
The organisation recognises that a new UCL will be contested in a super version format starting in the 2024–2025 season as a result of the adoption of the new UEFA structure. The number of games will be 47 per cent greater than in previous editions, the season will last 11 out of the 12 months, and there will be 36 teams playing in the final round, all of which will be put into one group.
Thus, there will be a total of 527 games played during the course of the three seasons of the UEFA Champions League (185 games total, including playoffs), UEFA Europa League (189 games), and UEFA Europa Conference League (153 games). Along with the UEFA Europe Super Cup and the UEFA Super Cup, whose new format is currently being developed, this will also contain the three finals.
Andrea Duilio, CEO of Sky Italia, said, “We are really excited to continue being UEFA’s partner and to offer our subscribers exclusively the big matches of these important European competitions until 2027. With the renewal of the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League and UEFA Europa Conference League, our Casa dello Sport will host many seasons of exclusive live events.
“A confirmation of our commitment to investing in high-quality content to bring Sky families a varied and quality offer, which combines Italian and international cinema, entertainment, TV series and big sport with the best possible viewing experience”.
For the current three-year term of 2021–2024, Sky Italia presently has the rights to broadcast 121 of the 137 UEFA Champions League matches and all 282 UEFA Europa League and UEFA Europa Conference League games.