The local football fans can look forward to: all 64 games of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar in autumn and all 51 games of the 2024 European Championship in Germany can be seen live on free TV in Austria. Thanks to a cooperation between the ORF and Servus TV, viewers can sit back and look forward to exciting games.
As the rights holder for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar from November 21 to December 18, 2022, the ORF will transfer the broadcasting rights to Servus TV for 25 of a total of 64 live games. The ORF shows 39 matches live, including almost all games in the main evening as well as the opening game and the final exclusively. Servus TV will broadcast 19 games from the group phase, two round of 16 matches, two quarter-finals, one semi-final and the match for third place.
In return, Servus TV, as the rights holder at the EM 2024 in Germany (June 14 to July 11, 2024), will transfer the rights to ORF for 20 of a total of 51 live games. The private broadcaster from Salzburg shows 31 matches directly, including – assuming successful qualification – all games of the ÖFB team, the opening game, the two semi-final matches and the final exclusively. The ORF will broadcast 16 games of the group phase, two round of 16 and two quarter-final matches live.
“Advantages, especially for TV viewers”
“After the tender for the sublicense of certain rights to the FIFA World Cup 2022, we noticed in the talks with Servus TV that there were very good opportunities for cooperation between Servus TV and ORF,” emphasized ORF TV sports director Hans Peter Trost. “This brings advantages for both broadcasters, but above all for the TV viewers in Austria: All games of the 2022 World Cup and the UEFA Euro 2024 will be shown live on free TV in Austria, in full length and in the highest quality.”
In addition to broadcasting rights for TV and online, the sublicense agreement also includes extensive highlight, clip and news rights. “What works smoothly in Formula 1 and has proven itself in the Europa and Conference Leagues is now also being used in major tournaments,” emphasized ORF General Director Roland Weißmann. “The high-priced sports rights market requires creative and pragmatic solutions if you want to prevent live sports from disappearing behind paywalls.”
