The agreement will see SPORT1 provide viewers with free-to-air live coverage of all 17 days of competition next summer.

SPORT1 will provide a minimum of 45 hours of Games coverage across television, internet, radio and mobile platforms, with the majority being broadcast live.

Live coverage of the Opening and Closing Ceremonies will also be shown, in addition to highlight packages being made available.

The deal will also see SPORT1 broadcast the first European Games on free-to-air television in Austria and Switzerland, with an additional minimum commitment of 20 hours coverage shown on their pay TV channels.

"We are delighted to announce that SPORT1 will broadcast the inaugural European Games in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, offering millions of European sports fans the opportunity to enjoy live coverage of this historic event," said Simon Clegg, the Baku 2015 chief operating officer.

"The signing of this agreement shows the high level of interest in the Games around the continent and ensures fans can follow their athletes' achievements across a range of media platforms."

Based in Ismaning, SPORT1 was formally known as Deutsches Sportfernsehen up until 2010 and has been operating since 1993.

By the end of the year it says it will have produced around 6,000 hours of coverage of major sporting events on its various platforms in 2014, including coverage of the ice hockey tournament at the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympic Games.

Olympic and world champions Kristina Vogel and Miriam Welte could be among the athletes being cheered on during SPORT1s coverage of Baku 2015 ©Getty Images



Commenting on the deal, chairman of management at SPORT1 Olaf Schröder, said: "As a broadcaster of the first ever European Games, SPORT1 is taking on a pioneering role of promoting the event in three major broadcast territories.

"Only on SPORT1 will supporters in Germany be able to watch the world-class performances of our top athletes as they battle it out for medals in Baku."

Michael Vesper, general director of the German Olympic Sports Confederation, said the deal was "good news" for athletes and fans and will ensure Baku 2015 is a success in Germany.

He added: "We are very happy that the first European Games will be available to all supporters on free-to-air television on the leading German sports channel."

The deal with SPORT1 is the latest broadcast agreement signed by organisers of the Baku 2015 European Games, scheduled to take place from June 12 to 28 in the Azerbaijani capital.

NTV Spor in Turkey was confirmed as the first company to sign an international broadcast agreement for the Games and was followed by deals with Sport 10 in Belgium and DigiSport in Romania and Hungary.

All four companies will work with host broadcaster International Sports Broadcasting, which will provide more than 800 hours of live action.

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