La Liga will be broadcast live on ITV for the upcoming season, after the British broadcaster secured the television rights in a last minute deal.
There had been a real possibility that the Spanish top flight would not be broadcast live in Britain or Ireland for the 19/20 campaign, as a number of broadcasters failed to agree a deal with La Liga decision makers.
Eleven Sport had been the sole right holders, but the online subscription service backed out of the deal due to a lack of subscribers. Sky Sports had shown Spanish football for a number of seasons before that.
The games will be shown live on ITV 4, which is available on free-to-air. They will show the first game of the season between Barcelona and Athletic Bilbao, which kicks off at 8pm tomorrow night.
We're delighted to announce coverage from the opening game of the 19/20 @LaLiga season as @AthleticClub host @FCBarcelona 🇪🇸⚽
For more details: https://t.co/gEwwa3fJwq pic.twitter.com/Dgp9ZBUcXH— ITV Football (@itvfootball) August 15, 2019
One match from each round of games will be shown, equalling 38 in total. ITV have also announced that they will broadcast a highlight show of the weekend's best action, which will air after each round of games.
Here's the games that have been confirmed thus far, with plenty more to come.
Matchday 1 Friday 16th August -Athletic Club vs. FC Barcelona – 8pm BST
Matchday 2 Sunday 25th August - FC Barcelona vs. Real Betis – 8pm BST
Matchday 3 Sunday 1st September - Villarreal CF vs. Real Madrid – 8pm BST
As if we didn't get enough football on our screens, this will be a big boost.
La Liga extends free-to-air ITV deal.
So smart in an era when country's main events pay-per-view. Guerilla-like making your event more mainstream. See also: Serie A in 90s.— Miguel Delaney (@MiguelDelaney) August 15, 2019
