Telecommunications company Virgin Media has acquired rights in the Republic of Ireland to broadcast select matches from the UEFA Champions League until the end of the 2023/24 campaign.
This deal will allow Virgin Media to telecast one game per matchday from the elite European club competition. The contract spans three years and all will cover all fixtures from the UEFA Europa League and the newly formed UEFA Europa Conference League.
This lucrative deal is followed by LiveScore acquiring the rights to broadcast every Champions League game and on a free-to-air basis in Ireland from 2021/22.
Virgin Media has had the media rights package for the club competition since 2018. The telecommunications company’s new deal for the UEFA club competitions means that the tournament will be telecasted by different broadcasters in Ireland. Along with Virgin Media and LiveScore, media rights are also acquired by the national broadcaster RTE and the UK-based pay-TV network BT Sport.
RTE will broadcast select Champions League fixtures on Tuesdays while BT will telecast all matches for its Irish subscribers.
Ireland is well acknowledged among the UEFA club competition qualifiers, with Dundalk, Bohemians and Shamrock Rovers all are actively involved in the European governing body’s tournaments.