Ziggo Sport said it has acquired the broadcasting rights of the UEFA
Champions League for the coming three seasons. The rights cover live and
summary match broadcasts on television and internet. In addition to the
UEFA Champions League, Ziggo Sport will also broadcast the UEFA
Supercup battle between the winner of the UEFA Champions League and the
Europa League. The company did not provide any financial information
about the deal.
Starting with the new season, Ziggo Sport, the free sports channel for
the digital subscribers of Ziggo, will broadcast a live march at at 7.00
pm. From 9.00 pm, it will offer “between” programme, where it will
switch between the goals and the biggest chances on the various fields.
From the eighth finals, a live match will be broadcast every night.
After each round of play, Ziggo Sport will also broadcast game
highlights.
Veronica had first choice
The broadcasting rights that Ziggo come on top of the deal Veronica cut.
This broadcaster had the first choice. That means that Veronica
determined what match it would broadcast. Ziggo Sport has the right to
broadcast other matches, which in practice means that Veronica will
choose the best 'poster', with or without a Dutch club. The finals and
matches with Dutch teams must be broadcast on an open network.
Via Pay TV product Ziggo Sport Totaal, customers can determine the match
they want to watch, in addition to the “between” programme. Per
evening, a maximum of five matches will be offered simultaneously Ziggo
Sport Total is available from almost all distributors in the
Netherlands.
The broadcasting rights of the Champions League matches fits within
Ziggo's strategy to acquire the rights of live sports competitions. The
company provides, among other things, live broadcasts of Formula 1 and
the English and Spanish football leagues. Ziggo Sport also focuses on
Dutch competitions by broadcasting live hockey, basketball, volleyball
and handball matches.