NFL team the Pittsburgh Steelers are partnering with Virgin Media Television for the upcoming season, with the broadcaster set to air three of the team's preseason games live and free-to-air for Irish fans for the first time.
Virgin Media Television is also set to broadcast The Mike Tomlin Show, featuring Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin, weekly throughout the 2024 season.
Irish audiences will be able to tune in to watch the Pittsburgh Steelers games against the Houston Texans on Friday August 9th at 23:30, the Buffalo Bills on Saturday August 17th at 23:30 and the Detroit Lions on Saturday August 24th at 17:30 live on Virgin Media Two and the Virgin Media Player. The match broadcasts will include original content produced by the Steelers and Virgin Media for the Irish audience.
The broadcast announcement is the latest activity by the Steelers in the Irish market, having been granted the rights to expand their brand and activities for the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland as part of the NFL's 'Global Markets Program'.
The Pittsburgh Steelers have hosted several fan and football educational events, including a first of its kind, sold-out Fan Watch Party at Croke Park in Dublin last November, a Kicking Clinic in April of this year and two American Football Youth Camps in Cork and Belfast this June. The team also announced their fourth-round pick in this year's NFL draft live from Co Kerry.
"The Steelers are excited to partner with Virgin Media Ireland to offer Steelers pre-season games, as well as episodic in-season programming, on Irish television for the first time, " said Dan Rooney, Steelers Director of Business Development and Strategy. "This is an exciting step for us, as we aim to serve our growing Steelers fan base in Ireland and promote the game of American Football to new audiences."
"We are delighted to partner with the Pittsburgh Steelers to bring more top-class NFL action to Irish viewers on free-to-air television," said Brian Gleeson, Head of Sport, Virgin Media Television. "These games are in addition to VMTV's live coverage of two NFL London games and the Super Bowl over the coming months."
The Pittsburgh Steelers franchise founders and owners, the Rooney family, maintain a deep connection to the island of Ireland through their ancestral roots in Newry Co. Down. Daniel M Rooney was appointed as the United States Ambassador to Ireland and was also one of the founders of The Ireland Funds which promotes peace, equality, and opportunity across the island of Ireland and among Irish communities worldwide. The Pittsburgh Steelers played in the first NFL game to be held in Ireland when they took on the Chicago Bears at Croke Park in the pre-season "American Bowl" in July 1997.
