Russian viewers face blackout of Ukraine matches during Euro 2024
Will the Russians broadcast Ukraine's matches during EURO 2024? According to unofficial reports from Biełsat, group stage matches definitely will not be shown. However, if Ukraine advances to the next rounds of the tournament, a problem will arise.
9:51 AM EDT, June 15, 2024
According to Biełsat, citing an anonymous source, the Russians will not watch Ukraine's matches at EURO 2024. It recalls that the main Russian sports channel is Matcz TV, owned by the Gazprom Media conglomerate. According to people from this circle, Ukraine's matches in the group stage of the European Championship will not be shown. However, a problem will arise when Serhiy Rebrov's team reaches the subsequent rounds of EURO.
Perhaps there is a plan at the very top in case of the success of Ukraine's national team. But it hasn't been discussed at any meetings, and no one is currently saying a word about it - one of Matcz TV's employees reportedly told the Czerta portal.
As he added, such problems are solved on an ongoing basis. However, Russians can watch the Ukrainian national team's matches if they pay. The streaming service Okko bought the rights to broadcast EURO 2024 matches in Germany.
Ukraine at EURO 2024
Ukraine advanced to the European Championship through the playoffs, similar to Poland. In the semifinals, they defeated Bosnia and Herzegovina (2:1), while in the finals, which took place in Wroclaw, they overcame Iceland (2:1).
Rebrov’s team was placed in Group E. The Ukrainians will play against Belgium, Slovakia, and Romania. While the team from the Benelux is the group favourite, the Ukrainians should fight for advancement to the next phase with their neighbouring teams. The first match of the Ukrainian national team will take place on Monday (June 17) at 11:00 AM ET. The first opponent will be the Romanian team.