The NFL have inked a new UK broadcast rights agreement with Sky Sports and 5 as part of a mutli-year agreement.
Sky Sports will continue to show the NFL for the next three years in the UK and Ireland until 2028 with “more games than ever before”.
The broadcaster has first right of picking an exclusive game at 6pm each week, and also a 9pm game on Sundays each week.
Furthermore, there will be a second game at 6pm and two additional games at 9pm to be shown simultaneously during the Sky Sports broadcasts of the NFL on Sundays.
“We’re proud to extend our partnership with the NFL beyond 30 years,” said Jonathan Licht, Chief Sports Officer UK & Ireland.
“The sport continues to grow and captivate UK audiences, which we saw first-hand with record breaking Super Bowl LVII viewership on Sky Sports. With more games than ever before, we’re excited to offer further value to our customers and continue to bring fans world class coverage.”
For the first time, all London and European regular season games will be broadcast live on Sky Sports. This will include the three games held at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on October 5, 12, 19, as well as regular season games held in Dublin (September 28), Berlin (November 9), and Madrid (November 16).
These additional international series games means Sky Sports has increased the amount of regular season games it will broadcast this upcoming NFL season by 50%.
NFL RedZone will also continue to be shown live on Sky Sports, alongside every Thursday Night, Sunday Night and Monday Night Football, Thanksgiving games, the Playoffs and Super Bowl LX.
“The UK market continues to be a priority for the NFL internationally, as we look to drive fandom and grow the game at every level around the world,” added Gerrit Meier, Managing Director and Head of NFL International.
“Sky Sports has been a significant part of the NFL’s growth story in the UK over the years, helping us to reach new audiences and bring fans the very best NFL content, and we are delighted to see our expanded partnership continue.”
NFL’s UK free-to-air partner 5
UK free-to-air Channel 5 and parent company Paramount UK have also agreed a new multi-year broadcast deal with the NFL.
5 will broadcast two Sunday evening games, one at 6pm on 5 and a second at 9pm on 5 Action. The platform will also provide live broadcasts of the NFL regular season games from London and Dublin, as well as Thanksgiving Day, Three Playoff games and the Super Bowl in February.
‘NFL Big Game Night’ will also be introduced on 5. This new show will be a “game within a game”, featuring two teams of friends and family to compete against each other to win prizes in various football-related activities.
Dermot O’Leary, Host of NFL Big Game Night, said: “”I’m really excited about hosting Big Game Night – the show combines two of my big loves: entertainment television and American football. I think it will be a really fun, silly and brilliant way to watch the game so I hope people enjoy it.”
TalkSport will also provide live commentary from its talkSPORT 2 station of up to 25 games, including the Super Bowl. The NFL UK and Ireland YouTube channel will host a weekly highlight show, The Weekly Blitz, too.
