RAI nets exclusive Italian TV rights to 2022 World Cup
April 10, 2021
From Branislav Pekic in Rome
Contrary to initial Italian press reports, RAI has been awarded the exclusive Italian multi-platform (TV, digital, radio) rights to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
The Italian public broadcaster will broadcast all 64 matches, of which at least 28, including the opening match, the final and both semi-finals, will be carried on flagship channel Rai Uno, fulfilling FIFA’s goal of providing wide visibility for its competitions.
Only hours before the assigning of the TV rights, several news outlets in Italy reported that the TV rights would be shared between RAI and Amazon, with the latter getting 36 matches.
The event will take place from 21 November to 18 December 2022, while the match kick-off times in Italy will be at 11:00, 14:00, 17:00 and 20:00.
The 2018 World Cup was aired exclusively in Italy by commercial rival Mediaset.