French free-to-air broadcaster TF1 will continue to broadcast the Champions League for the next three seasons (2003-2006) after agreeing a renewal rights deal. The new contract extends TF1's coverage of the tournament beyond its existing 11-year association.
TF1 will transmit the first choice match of every UEFA Champions League match week, although this agreement is subject to a final contract.
The remaining rights for the French market are still under negotiation and UEFA stated a further announcement regarding these rights is expected to be made shortly.
Commenting on the agreement, UEFA chief executive Gerhard Aigner, said: “I am very pleased that TF1 have been chosen to broadcast the pick of the UEFA Champions League matches between 2003 and 2006.
“Our partnership with TF1 in France stretches back to the inception of the UEFA Champions League and they have consistently delivered a good product to the French public, via their free-to-air network.
The deal in France is the latest Champions League rights deal signed by UEFA and TEAM and represents one of the major national markets for the governing body.
Rights contracts have also been signed in the UK, Netherlands, Ireland, Belgium, Israel and Scandinavia.
The relationship between sport and the broadcast market is just one of the topics to be discussed at the industry's top conference to be staged in Madrid this year.
SportAccord takes place between May 12-16, 2003, with a full day of the conference devoted to the topic of 'Sport and Broadcast'.
For full details of the conference, click on the link below to check out the official conference website.
