Euro 2025 will be broadcast live by the BBC and ITV after the two broadcasters agreed to share the rights. The tournament will be the first women’s European Championship to take place since the British government added the competition to the list of so-called “crown jewels” of major sporting events that must be broadcast live and free-to-air, joining the list of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, the Grand National and Wimbledon.

Switzerland will host the 16-team competition, which begins on July 2. Defending champions England have qualified for next summer’s finals, while Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales hope to qualify via the playoffs, which begin in October.

For the 2017 tournament, Channel 4 secured exclusive rights to broadcast the matches live, and for the most recent edition in 2022 – which was postponed for 12 months because of the pandemic – the BBC had exclusive rights in the UK. Now it has teamed up with ITV in a similar arrangement for major men’s international tournaments. The two broadcasters have jointly covered the 2023 Women’s World Cup.

Both will broadcast the final live on Sunday 27 July 2025. Matches will be shown on BBC television and iPlayer, while ITV will split the matches between ITV1 and ITV4. The proportion of matches shown live on the main channels has not yet been announced.

Ratings for women’s international matches have soared in recent years. Two years ago, over 17 million viewers watched the European Championship final on BBC One, when England beat Germany after extra time. At its peak, over 12 million viewers watched last summer’s World Cup final between the Lionesses and Spain in Sydney, which kicked off in the morning for British audiences.

“BBC Sport has a long-standing support of women’s football and is committed to bringing the nation together at the biggest sporting events,” said new BBC Sport Director Alex Kay-Jelski. “We are delighted to be able to bring viewers another major tournament next summer.”

Niall Sloane, ITV’s Director of Sport, said: “Following the success of last year’s Women’s World Cup, which attracted large audiences to ITV throughout the tournament, we are looking forward to presenting the UEFA Women’s Euro next year.”