India’s top premium sports broadcasting network, Sony Sports Network has renewed its broadcast agreement with the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), the governing body of football in Europe.
As part of the agreement, the broadcaster will have exclusive media rights to all UEFA National team competitions scheduled between 2022 and 2028, as well as the UEFA EURO 2024 and 2028, as well as European Qualifiers and Friendly Matches. The UEFA competitions will be exclusively available on linear television in the Indian subcontinent, including India, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Maldives, and Sri Lanka, along with live streaming on SonyLIV, the broadcaster’s on-demand OTT platform.
Sony Sports Network will broadcast UEFA EURO 2024 live, containing all of Europe’s top national teams.
The much-anticipated marquee competition will begin on June 14, 2024, in Germany, with the Final scheduled for July 14, 2024, in Berlin’s Olympiastadion. To qualify for UEFA EURO 2024, teams must first compete in the European Qualifiers, which is scheduled to take place from March 2023 to March 2024, followed by the Play-Offs. The round-robin qualifiers will feature 53 teams divided into ten groups and will be broadcast live on Sony Sports Network.
All UEFA Nations League matches will also be displayed on Sony Sports Network. Furthermore, the UEFA Nations League Finals 2023 will take place on June 14, 2023, between the Netherlands, Croatia, Spain, and Italy.
Rajesh Kaul, Chief Revenue Officer – Distribution & International Business and Head – Sports Business, Sony Pictures Networks India, commented, “We’re thrilled to announce that Sony Sports Network has extended its partnership with UEFA and secured the rights to the UEFA EURO 2024 and 2028 editions, further cementing our commitment to delivering premium quality football on a massive scale. With the acquisition of exclusive television and digital rights in the Indian sub-continent, we’re excited to bring the tournament to viewers in multiple languages, ensuring that fans can experience the thrill of one of the biggest events in football. UEFA commands some of the most premium football properties, and this association expands our football portfolio with an additional 1300 football matches making us the premier destination for European football in India.
“There is a high attraction for the marquee UEFA EURO tournament, featuring the top European footballing nations, both with advertisers and viewers in India. And this was evident in the successful broadcast of UEFA EURO 2020 on Sony Sports Network in which the viewership impressions were more than triple of UEFA EURO 2016 along with over 65 brands that associated with our network for the prestigious tournament across our linear and digital platforms.”
Guy-Laurent Epstein, Director of Marketing, UEFA, said, “We are very pleased to continue our partnership with Sony Sports Network as the home of UEFA National Team Football in the Indian subcontinent until 2028. Fans in the region will be offered an extensive and excellent coverage of UEFA’s European National Team Football portfolio which includes the European Qualifiers, UEFA Nations League, UEFA EURO 2024, and UEFA EURO 2028, with all matches broadcast on linear television and the digital platform SonyLIV.”