Inside BBC and ITV’s tense Euro 2024 TV negotiations with mind-games over England matches ‘like extreme cold war’
ITV and the BBC went head-to-head in a heated battle to determine this summer’s Euro 2024 TV picks.
The UK’s two leading broadcasters both secured rights to this year’s tournament, meaning fixtures had to be distributed evenly.
ITV sealed the opening match as Germany cruised to a 5-1 win over Scotland, while BBC executives bagged the first two England games.
The two also had to fight it out for specific knockout stage fixtures.
But what factors into these decisions? And how is each match allocated?
Journalist Marina Hyde lifted the lid on the process, revealing that each broadcaster operates on a ‘you-pick we-pick’ basis.
ITV kicked off the process this time around, selecting the first choice of semi-final having predicted England to go the distance.
However, the BBC took a slightly different approach.
On The Rest is Entertainment podcast, journalist Hyde explained: “ITV and the BBC share out games at the Euros and all tournaments.
“They take it in turns to pick matches, but this time round it was ITV’s turn to pick first.
EURO 2024 FREE BETS AND OFFERS
BBC and ITV's Euro 2024 line up in full
Here's how each channel will line-up:
BBC presenters:
Gary Lineker, Alex Scott, Gabby Logan and Mark Chapman
ITV presenters:
Mark Pougatch and Laura Woods
BBC pundits:
Alan Shearer, Micah Richards, Rio Ferdinand, Ellen White, Frank Lampard, Ashley Williams, Wayne Rooney, Joe Hart, Cesc Fabregas, Thomas Frank, David Moyes, Rachel Corsie and James McFadden
ITV pundits:
Ian Wright, Roy Keane, Gary Neville, Karen Carney, Graeme Souness, Eni Aluko, Ange Postecoglou, Danny Rohl and Christina Unkel
BBC commentators:
Guy Mowbray, Robyn Cowen, Vicki Sparks, Steve Wilson, Steve Bower and Jonathan Pearce
ITV commentators:
Sam Matterface, Clive Tyldesley, Seb Hutchinson, Pien Meulensteen and Joe Speight
BBC co-commentators:
Danny Murphy, Martin Keown, Jermaine Jenas and James McFadden
ITV co-commentators:
Lee Dixon, Ally McCoist and Andros Townsend
“You can choose anything right from the start, it’s like a draft, but they thought ‘okay we’ll do semi-final pick one’ because they thought England will do well in this tournament.
“So, when the semi-final line-up is finally decided, ITV will get to choose first… hopefully with England in it.
“The BBC then counter, so their next thing – and this is what happened in the room for this particular Euros – the BBC then countered with quarter-final pick one.
“It’s honestly like game theory. It’s like extreme cold war.”
ITV went on to select the round-of-16 pick one, before the BBC chose England vs Serbia due to its prime-time 8pm slot on a Sunday.
England’s bore draw with Slovenia on Tuesday was subsequently snatched by ITV – also in the 8pm slot.
Hyde continued: “But then the big dilemma, ITV could’ve had the second semi-final at this stage and they are sitting there thinking ‘what do we do?’ And then the BBC will be shut out of the final week of the tournament until the actual final.
“But then if England are gone, the level of interest is gone.
“So ITV chose game one of the whole tournament.”
The decision to show the first match of Euro 2024 certainly paid off for ITV, with more than 10million viewers tuning in – the highest peak audience of any opening to a major football tournament in a decade.
The BBC & ITV's bidding process
ITV pick one: Semi-final first pick
BBC pick one: Quarter-final first pick
ITV pick two: Round-of-16 first pick
BBC pick two: England vs Serbia
ITV pick three: England vs Slovenia
BBC pick three: England vs Denmark
ITV pick four: Germany vs Scotland