Almost half of this summer’s Euro 2016 matches will be broadcast on TV3.
RTÉ have agreed to sub-licence 22 of the 51 games to their rival broadcaster in a deal that is a first of its kind for Irish television.
The state broadcaster retains the rights to 30 games, with TV3 getting exclusive rights to 21 matches and both Irish stations sharing rights to the final.
A statement from RTÉ says that the broadcaster will have first dibs on knockout games, while they will also show a nightly highlights show.
“In an increasingly competitive and high cost sports rights market, RTÉ has sought a solution to secure and deliver sport to the Irish audience,” said Ryle Nugent, Group Head of RTÉ Sport.
“2016 is a huge year for Irish sport with the 6 Nations, GAA Championships, Olympics, Paralympics, European Athletic Championships and the FIFA World Cup qualifiers.
“This year’s European Soccer Championship Finals is the biggest ever, with an additional 20 matches in comparison to 2012. RTÉ is delighted to partner with TV3, another Irish broadcaster, to ensure that the UEFA Euro 2016 Finals are delivered to Irish audiences free-to-air”.
All televised matches will be available to view live and on-demand on RTÉ Player in the Republic of Ireland.
UEFA EURO 2016 Live on RTÉ2
RTÉ2’s coverage of the group stages includes all three Republic of Ireland games, the three Wales games, two of Northern Ireland’s games and one England game.
10th June France v Romania (ko 2000)
11th June Albania v Switzerland (1400)
Wales v Slovakia (2000)
12th June Poland v Northern Ireland (1700)
13th June Rep. of Ireland v Sweden (1700)
Belgium v Italy (2000)
14th June Portugal v Iceland (2000)
15th June Russia v Slovakia (1400)
16th June England v Wales (1400)
Germany v Poland (2000)
17th June Italy v Sweden (1400)
Czech Republic v Croatia (1700)
18th June Belgium v Rep. of Ireland (1400)
Portugal v Austria (2000)
19th June Switzerland v France (2000)
20th June Russia v Wales (2000)
21th June Northern Ireland v Germany (1700)
Czech Republic v Turkey (2000)
22th June Iceland v Austria (1700)
Italy v Rep. of Ireland (2000)
