Overseas interest in American football is growing, with many Europeans now following the NFL. To that end, ESPN America announced a four-year extension of its deal to deliver NFL games in Europe.
The four-year agreement, which begins this season, enables ESPN America to broadcast approximately 100 NFL games per season – including preseason, regular-season and postseason games, culminating with the Super Bowl – in 41 European territories.
ESPN America will televise four to six live games per week during the regular season including a live game during each of the following NFL broadcast windows: Sunday (1 p.m. EST), Sunday (4 p.m. EST), Sunday Night Football (8:15 p.m. EST.), and Monday Night Football (8:30 p.m. EST). ESPN America will also air the season-opening kickoff game, Thursday/Saturday games, the Thanksgiving Day tripleheader, all Wild Card and Divisional playoff games, the AFC and NFC Championship Games, the Pro Bowl and the Super Bowl.
Additional highlights of the agreement include the NFL Draft, ESPN-branded studio programming and NFL Films programming.
“Securing and expanding our rights to the National Football League, one of the most compelling leagues anywhere in the world, will strengthen our core US sports assets. This agreement reaffirms our desire to continue to serve fans across Europe with the most comprehensive and diverse lineup of events from the world’s top sports,” said Lynne Frank, Senior Vice President and Managing Director, ESPN EMEA.
“We are pleased to continue our partnership with ESPN America in serving English-speaking NFL fans across Europe. We believe ESPN will continue to do an outstanding job of bringing our fans closer to our sport,” said Hans Schroeder, NFL Vice President, Media Strategy and Development. “
European territories covered under this agreement:
Albania, Andorra, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus , Czech Republic , Estonia , France , Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy (including San Marino and Vatican City), Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Latvia , Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malta (beginning with the 2010 season), Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Switzerland, Turkey (beginning with the 2010 season), and Ukraine.
