The race for the broadcasting rights to Euro 08 is on

The European Football Association is currently negotiating with SRG SSR and various private broadcasters, including Teleclub, and with Swisscom for the Swiss broadcasting rights. However, it is still unclear who will win the race. If SRG SSR does not reach an agreement with Uefa on prices and conditions, it is not unlikely that the European Championship will only be available on pay TV - apart from the Swiss national team's matches, which must be available without additional fees in accordance with the European Broadcasting Ordinance. According to the SRG newsletter Inside, Urs Leutert, SRG Head of Sport, currently estimates the chance of an agreement at 51 percent. This is because SRG wants to acquire the rights on the one hand and produce part of the European Championship on the other. However, SRG has "a financial pain threshold", Leutert continued. The negotiations will continue until the end of the year. SRG already paid CHF 17 million for the broadcasting rights to the World Cup, but was only able to recoup part of it.
Teleclub could also play a role in the broadcasting rights: "We have been approached," confirms Roger Feiner, Head of Sports at Teleclub. The pay-TV channel is two-thirds owned by the cinema and pay-TV group CT Cinetrade, which is one-third owned by the Ringier media group and 49% by Swisscom.
Swisscom is also particularly interested in the rights - with a view to Bluewin TV. The launch has been announced for the fall of this year. The broadcast of Euro 08 could help the new television platform achieve a breakthrough. For Swisscom, buying the broadcasting rights would not be a big financial deal. In addition, the two Swisscom subsidiaries Teleclub and Bluewin TV have already acquired the TV rights to the Super League, as reported by Werbewoche.