Free-to-air broadcaster 5 to show NFL and Super Bowl
Free-to-air broadcaster 5 has secured the rights to Sunday evening NFL matches, and will show the next Super Bowl.
The new multi-year deal continues the long running theme of having elements of the NFL on free-to-air television in the United Kingdom, with the American football league also broadcasting a match on Channel 5 on the night it launched in 1997.
The Sunday 6pm match will be shown free-to-air on 5, with the 9pm match broadcast on sister channel 5 Action.
The deal will also see the three London matches shown free-to-air, alongside NFL’s first staging in Ireland.
Former X Factor supremo Dermot O’Leary will head the coverage alongside former Olympic hockey player Sam Quek and two-time Super Bowl winner Osi Umenyiora.
NFL on free-to-air
Sky Sports is expected to maintain the other matches for UK broadcast, while the round one NFL match in Sao Paolo will be shown on YouTube. Netflix currently hold the rights for the Christmas Day matches, and last year staged a half-time show with Beyonce.
General manager of NFL UK, Henry Hodgson, though, said on social media that the 5 agreement was just one of three broadcast partner announcements.
The deal forms part of an agreement between 5 and , and the NFL.
Gerrit Meier, managing director and head of NFL International, said: “This new partnership with 5 and Paramount UK marks a significant step in bringing more NFL coverage on a weekly basis to the UK than ever before.
“The NFL brings people together, through both a sport and entertainment lens, and the live game coverage and ‘NFL: Big Game Night’ format will engage fans and invite newcomers to enjoy the sport as we look to continue to grow fandom in the UK.”
This year’s Super Bowl will be the showcase match of 5’s season, with the 60th showpiece match taking place at the San Francisco 49ers’ Levi’s Stadium in California.
Dermot O’Leary said: “I’m really excited about hosting Big Game Night – the show combines two of my big loves: entertainment television and American football. I think it will be a really fun, silly and brilliant way to watch the game so I hope people enjoy it.”