DIGITAL CHANNEL OPERATOR WINS RIGHTS TO BROADCAST WORLD CUP

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A third television broadcaster will offer World Cup matches in the United Kingdom, after digital channel operator UKTV G2 acquired non-exclusive rights to this summer’s tournament in Germany. UKTV acquired a sublicense for the rights from mainstream broadcasters BBC and ITV, who own joint TV rights.

The channel won rights to air the BBC’s slate of 31 live games, including the tournament-opening game and England’s opening game against Paraguay. The channel will air other key games involving England, France and Brazil. It also won rights to show highlights of all 64 games, a daily highlights show and pre-game programs.
The World Cup is listed as a “Group A” event, and under UK legislation it must be offered to other broadcasters.

UKTV G2 is an independent joint venture between Flextech Television and BBC Worldwide. The network attracts 27 million viewers a month to its 10 focused channels: UKTV Gold, UKTV History, UKTV Style, UKTV G2, UKTV Drama, UKTV Documentary, UKTV Food, UKTV People, UKTV Style Gardens, and UKTV Bright Ideas.