Local football enthusiasts will have the opportunity to follow the Malta U-17 adventure in this year’s European Championship from the comfort of their homes after the Public Broadcasting Services (PBS) secured the rights to show the Maltese team’s group matches live during the continental competition, to be staged here between May 9 and 21, together with the two semi-finals and final.
Added to that, PBS will also continue to provide exclusive coverage of the senior national team’s qualifying matches in both Euro 2016 and the 2018 World Cup after striking a deal with the European governing body of football, UEFA.
Anton Attard, Chief Executive Officer of PBS, told a news conference yesterday the broadcast of major sporting events was an important component of the company’s agenda.
“Over the past months, TVM and TVM2 have increased the number of sports-related broadcasts,” Attard said.
“Our stations are showing live games from the BOV Premier League, Champions League, Europa League and the 2014 World Cup at no extra cost for the viewers.
“This new agreement with UEFA for the U-17 championship, Euro 2016 and 2018 World Cup further strengthens our commitment to give our viewers the best sporting content possible free of charge.”
Peter Cossai, the head of sports programmes at PBS, said that the Euro 2016 qualifiers agreement introduces the new UEFA concept of a ‘week of football’ where matches will be spread between Thursday and the following Tuesday.
“PBS have secured the right to show a live match of its own choice every day during the international week, meaning that, in a seven-day period, TVM and TVM 2 can broadcast matches featuring the bestEuropean nations, namely England, Italy, Germany, Holland, Spain and Portugal,” Cossai said.
Huge commitment
For his part, chairman Tonio Portughese said these TV rights deals represent a massive financial commitment by PBS.
“We had to be brave and undertake this commitment to ensure that our viewers receive the best package possible,” Portughese said.
“It’s our intention to keep offering such high-quality programmes for many years to come.”