Sky Sports unveils dedicated NFL channel ahead of new season

Credit: Jill Toyoshiba/Zuma Press/PA Images

Sky Sports has struck a new five-year partnership with the NFL to enhance its American football content and create a dedicated channel for the competition.

Sky Sports NFL is the first channel launched by an international broadcaster through a partnership with the competition with the platform providing a minimum of five live games each week of the campaign. 

The channel will officially launch on September 3, seven days before the NFL 2020 season commences on September 10. According to the subscription television sports service, Sky Sports NFL is set to be ‘the round-the-clock home of the NFL on television in the UK and Republic of Ireland’ and will include broadcasts of the regular season, play-offs and Super Bowl LV.

Stephen van Rooyen, Chief Executive Officer, Sky UK & Europe, commented: “We are proud of our quarter-century partnership with the NFL and are hugely excited about launching a dedicated channel which will be a first for the NFL with an international broadcaster. Sky Sports NFL will allow us to take our customers even closer to the sport.

“Sky Sports has shown live NFL since 1995 and played a big role in growing the sport in the UK & Ireland over the last 25 years.

“Now, as part of Comcast, we are excited about taking our partnership to a whole new level. Our viewers are passionate sports fans and we look forward to capturing the drama of the NFL for another five years.”

As part of its agreement with NFL the firm will be given the first-pick exclusive game on Sky Sports NFL in the 6pm and 9pm slot every Sunday, whilst also gaining access to Thursday and Monday Night Football.

The channel will also feature a variety of new and existing content such as NFL RedZone, brand new weekly shows and NFL Network programming. Additionally, NFL will gain increased coverage across all of Sky Sports’ news, digital and social platforms.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell added: “Sky Sports has been a fantastic broadcast partner for a quarter of a century. This new five-year agreement and the launch of a dedicated Sky Sports NFL channel will undoubtedly continue our rapid growth in the UK and Ireland. We are excited that our expanded partnership with Sky will provide even more NFL content to our millions of UK and Irish fans.”

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