C5 Shoots And Scores For Euro 2000

Nascent terrestrial broadcaster, Channel 5, has secured a sports coup by winning the rights to three of England’s qualifying games for the Euro 2000 finals. The games, which are all away, will come from Poland, Bulgaria and Luxembourg.

The channel also has the rights to broadcast Scotland’s matches in the Czech Republic, Lithuania, Bosnia-Herzogovina, Estonia and the Faroe Islands as well as Wales’ trips to Italy and Belarus.

This package gains a significant presence for Channel 5 in the competitive and lucrative world of major sports broadcasting. The channel’s controller of sport, Robert Charles said: “This is a real coup for 5 and ensures that a terrestrial audience will be able to see live coverage of crucial matches for both England and Scotland.”

There is, however, a possibility of controversy arising from the deal as one of Channel 5’s shareholders, UFA (29% stake) has the football rights in all of the countries in which the games take place. This may well be denounced as an uncompetitive element in the decision to give 5 the rights.

The remaining away game for England is against Sweden and as yet no-one has secured the rights to broadcast it. It is expected that Sky will be interested in order to augment its monopoly of rights to all of England’s home games in the competition.

England’s World Cup qualifier away to Poland last year gave Channel 5 its largest audience to date: five million viewers.

Channel 5: 0171 550 5555