Premiere set plans for free-to-air TV

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Pay-TV broadcaster Premiere confirmed its plans to branch out into free-to-air TV after it bought the exclusive German television rights to show UEFA Champions League. Premiere plans to acquire or launch its own free TV channel to show at least 13 of the 125 matches per season for free, as it has pledged to UEFA. UEFA can strike a deal with another free-TV channel if Premiere fails to do so.

Premiere out-bided free-TV rivals ProSiebenSat.1 Media and RTL Group in a two-month auction. Football is the most important content for Premiere, which earlier this year sold shares in Germany's biggest-ever initial public offering of a media firm. Premiere also bought the Champions League rights for pay-TV in a deal for three seasons starting 2006/07, as it did in past seasons.