Sky Sports is "set to return to broadcasting England matches by sealing a contract to show UEFA’s new competition, the Nations League," according to Charles Sale of the London DAILY MAIL. The rest of England’s competitive fixtures "will remain on free-to-air ITV," with the combined deal understood to be worth more than £200M ($288M) over four years -- "double the value of their current contract." The complex Nations League, "which divides Europe’s 54 countries into four pools and then three or four sub-groups," starts after the 2018 World Cup. Sky will show England's home and away games in a four-year cycle and will feature Nations League finals in '19 and '21 -- "and a maximum of six games if a country reaches the final." England's qualifying games for the World Cup and European Championship between '18 and '22 will stay with ITV, "while the few remaining friendlies are split between the two networks." This will see ITV show 24 England games live and Sky a maximum of 16, "although the proposed UEFA packages are yet to be signed" (DAILY MAIL, 1/13).
