Viaplay, the European pay-TV broadcaster, has successfully secured rights to broadcast the trio of UEFA European men’s club soccer competitions across five Nordic countries for the 2024-27 cycle. This marks a significant expansion of their sports portfolio in these regions. Specifically, Viaplay will exclusively cover the top-tier UEFA Champions League (UCL) in Sweden and Denmark. The second-tier Europa League and third-tier Conference League matches will be aired exclusively in Norway and Finland. In Iceland, all these competitions will be shown on a non-exclusive basis.
The UCL coverage represents a major addition for Viaplay's Swedish audience as Telia previously held these rights during the 2021-24 cycle. The other Nordic tie-ups are extensions of previous agreements as Viaplay aims to consolidate key soccer rights after facing financial issues in 2023.
In mid-April, Norwegian broadcaster TV2 confirmed it had renewed Champions League matches rights for the 2024-27 cycle while commercial broadcaster Syn will continue to share competition rights with Viaplay in Iceland.
bTV won race against Max Sport
Bulgarian pay-TV network bTV has also extended its deal covering UEFA's men's club competitions for the same period. The UCL, Europa League, and Conference League will all be available to view on bTV's linear and digital platforms as well as on streaming platform Voyo.
bTV has been a long-standing partner with UEFA throughout most of this century. However, during this current cycle Max Sport pay-TV network also showcased some UCL action alongside them. These deals significantly contribute towards completing UEFA’s broadcast partner portfolio across Europe for its next three-year club competition cycle running from 2024-25 through 2026-27. Tenders for these rights were launched in the Nordics in late October, while the Bulgarian tender had been open since late 2022.
The agreements also coincide with significant changes to the UCL format scheduled for next season. The pan-European competition will comprise 203 matches per season across 19 match weeks, as opposed to the current format of 17 match weeks and a total of 137 games. The Europa League and Conference League will also increase in size next year, with the match total up from 282 to 342.
Viaplay showing no signs of stopping
These UEFA deals follow an equally significant extension by Viaplay in late April which saw them renew their deal with motor racing’s iconic Formula One (F1) through till 2029.
Jorgen Madsen Lindemann, Viaplay Group’s president and chief executive, said:
“This new agreement shows our laser focus on securing content that is relevant and attractive for many viewers, and that offers proven commercial possibilities.”
Viaplay’s premium sports portfolio now includes soccer’s English Premier League, German Bundesliga, Danish Superliga matches; ice hockey’s NHL; FIS winter sports; IHF and EHF handball; golf's majors alongside F1 and UEFA competitions.
The most recent UEFA club competition rights deal was secured by Japan's satellite TV network Wowow which retained broadcasting rights for all three competitions for the cycle starting from 2024-25.
