BBC working with Premier Sports to broadcast UK international football fixtures
In a bid to avoid a broadcast blackout for the upcoming UK international football fixtures this week, the BBC is reportedly working on a sublicensing deal with Premier Sports to showcase the games.
The UK domestic rights for Scottish football and Northern Ireland games were held by Viaplay, which was set to enter the UK market after prizing a package away from Sky Sports in 2022.
Viaplay was due to broadcast all Scotland and Northern Ireland games during the UEFA Nations League, FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualifiers, UEFA EURO 2028 Qualifiers and international friendlies to its domestic audiences.
However, last year Viaplay announced an end to its UK expansion due to cost-cutting measures and a focus on its core market in Scandinavia, a year before its broadcast rights deal in the UK was to take effect.
This meant that the streaming service sold its sporting rights to Premier Sports earlier this year, but this deal did not include the rights package for UEFA fixtures.
With Scotland set to play Poland in its first Nations League fixture tomorrow (5 September), as well as an away fixture against Portugal on Sunday (8 September), this leaves fans in the country with no way of watching its team.
The same problem is facing Northern Irish football fans. The country has two fixtures this week without a national broadcaster for its Nations League games.
To avoid this from happening, the BBC and Premier Sports are working on a deal with Viaplay for the UEFA rights package that would see both broadcasters split the games evenly, according to outlets like the Daily Record.
It is believed that BBC is opting to broadcast home games for both Scotland and Northern Ireland teams, whilst Premier Sports will showcase all the away fixtures.
For England international fixtures, ITV broadcasts all UEFA competition games, whilst the Welsh-language network S4C has the same deal in place for the Wales team.
