1. Soccer Streams
  2. News
  3. Live streaming platform Viaplay picks up exclusive rights to home nations football from 2024

Live streaming platform Viaplay picks up exclusive rights to home nations football from 2024

Published:
Shutterstock
Shutterstock

All UEFA fixtures involving Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland will be shown on the platform in four year deal

Nordic Entertainment (NENT) Group's Viaplay has captured the exclusive rights to show matches involving three home nations in the UK, excluding England, in European qualifiers and the UEFA Nations League. Rights to such fixtures were previously held by Sky Sports but will now be exclusively available on the Nordic live streaming platform from 2024 onwards.

The four-year agreement signed between UEFA and Viaplay means that UEFA fixtures involving Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, including UEFA qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup 2026 and UEFA EURO 2028, as well as the Nations League in 2024-25 and 2026-27 will be broadcast via live streaming by Viaplay.

The deal grants the platform access to 40 exclusive live matches featuring the mens national teams of the three countries in all UEFA competitions and even friendlies. It's part of a larger deal with UEFA which will see over 800 exclusive international fixtures from across Europe broadcast on the platform.

The news is a major step forward for the live streaming company. The broader agreement includes the likes of world champions France and European champions Italy, and can now boast three of the UK's four home nations, excluding England.

Anders Jensen, NENT Group President and CEO said:

“This is Viaplay’s biggest UK sports milestone so far. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have exciting young teams that millions of fans will be able to follow exclusively on our world-class platform. These matches are in good hands – we work closely with UEFA in the Nordic and Baltic regions, and know how much national sides mean to supporters. Viaplay’s multi-territory partnerships with rights holders will be a key advantage as we challenge further in the UK sports market. The timing is also advantageous, with these rights coming on stream in 2024, which allows us time to build our UK brand and to innovate the Viaplay viewing experience even further.”

Guy-Laurent Epstein, Marketing Director at UEFA was equally excited:

“We are delighted to enter this new partnership with Viaplay with its expansion into the UK. Viaplay will provide a comprehensive and innovative home for the Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales National Team matches, as well as for all other third-party European national team matches played during the European Qualifiers for FIFA World Cup 2026 and UEFA EURO 2028, as well as the UEFA Nations League 2024 and 2026, including the UEFA Nations League Finals in 2025 and 2027."

“With Viaplay’s long-lasting football track record, we are confident that football fans across the UK will be part of the journey of each of the Home Nations and will be offered excellent coverage of the UEFA National Team Football competitions between 2024 and 2028, whichever screen they choose to use.”

This football rights deal represents a huge swift in the way millions of British football fans will follow their beloved national teams and hints at the future of football broadcasting, with more and more content going online and away from traditional TV networks.

For more news about the business side of football, check out our other articles. Alternatively, if you're looking for football live streams or football predictions, we've got you covered.

Follow Sporticos on Google News

Check Sporticos on Google News
Google News Feeds