Uefa announces sale of Italian Euro 2012 rights

09 June 2011 | Posted in Broadcast, Soccer | By Tom Love

Uefa, the controlling body for European soccer, has reached an exclusive agreement with Italian state owned public service broadcaster RAI Radiotelevisione Italiana for the broadcast rights to the 2012 Uefa European Football Championship in Italy.

Under terms of the new agreement RAI will offer free-to-air coverage of all 31 matches of the European soccer tournament across its two channels RAI Uno and RAI Due. Additionally RAI will supplement its coverage with dedicated magazine and highlights programmes and comprehensive internet and mobile services on a live and on-demand basis.

As a further part of the deal, RAI has acquired the media rights for the 2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship.

Financial details of the agreement were not released, but media reports suggested the deal followed the trend set in Spain and Germany, with fees slightly less than Uefa had anticipated and less than was commanded by Euro 2012. In Spain, for example, Mediaset will pay around US$98 million for the Euro 2016 rights package, short of the US$105 milliion Uefa requirement. Rai is thought to be paying slightly below its previous deal with Uefa, with the deal believed to be worth between €100 million (US$145 million) and €110 million (US$160 million).

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Guy-Laurent Epstein, Uefa Events SA marketing director, said, "We are delighted to continue our relationship with RAI, our long-standing broadcast partner in Italy for the Uefa European Football Championship. RAI has an exceptional track record of broadcasting major international sporting events and is the perfect home for Uefa Euro 2012. Football fans in Italy will be offered an excellent broadcast platform and a fantastic viewing experience."

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