IMG, the global sports and entertainment company, has signed a television distribution agreement with Channel 4 (C4), the UK free-to-air network, to broadcast six England men’s national team football matches later this year.
The six games against Hungary, Italy, and Germany will be broadcast live with home and away matches shared evenly.
C4 acquired the licenses to these fixtures in late April as part of a broader contract that includes 20 England matches from now through 2024.
C4’s live coverage of England’s six future fixtures from the 2022-23 UEFA Nations League pan-European competition will be produced by IMG, which secured a similar production rights deal with C4 in February (covering domestic rugby league at the time).
Stephen Cook, Director of Content at IMG, said, “We are delighted to be working with Channel 4 again. It is an amazing privilege and responsibility to be providing coverage of this young, vibrant England team as they come back to play in front of packed houses.
“The IMG team is ready and excited about the game this weekend and those to come.”
The first match encased by this agreement would be England’s away match against Hungary on June 4.
The agreement involving C4 and UEFA also includes all of England’s qualifying rounds for the 2024 European Championships, and every overseas exhibition the nation plays in the coming years.
It means that in the next two years, every England match would be broadcast free of charge. The FIFA World Cup 2022, which will be held in Qatar later in the year, is not covered under this deal, but an agreement has already been reached between the BBC and ITV, two other UK free-to-air broadcasters. This means that world cup enthusiasts in the UK don’t have to worry about paying subscriptions to enjoy the world cup.