ITV acquire free-to-air TV rights to African Cup of Nations
January 6, 2012 · 1 Comments
ITV has acquired the free-to-air UK broadcast rights to the African Cup of Nations which had previously been held by the BBC.
ITV4 will broadcast four live games from the tournament, which takes place from January 21st to February 12th in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea. The coverage will include one key game from the group stages (Ivory Coast v Burkina Faso), plus live coverage of one quarter final, one semi final and the final. There will also be comprehensive highlights programmes throughout the tournament on ITV4 with matches simulcast on itv.com.
Niall Sloane, ITV’s Controller of Sport said: “The African Cup of Nations is a major football event with a huge following in the UK and I’m delighted that we’ll be offering viewers free to air live coverage and highlights throughout the tournament on ITV4.”
The free-to-air rights had previously been held by the BBC, who in 2010 aired coverage of the competition on its red button service, and semi finals and finals on BBC Three / BBC Two.
The deal is the latest in a number of recent acquisitions for ITV4 with the BBC facing significant cuts in its sports budget. ITV recently picked up French Open tennis from the BBC, as well as additional Europa League rights from Channel 5.
Eurosport holds the UK pay-TV rights to the African Cup of Nations and will be broadcasting full live coverage of the tournament.
Tags: African Cup of Nations, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, ITV Sport, ITV4
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Well done again to ITV Sport once again. They picked up African Cup of Nations. I wish they had League Football. Congratualations.