Viaplay Group, the Nordic media giant, has renewed its rights to broadcast English soccer’s second-tier EFL Championship until 2028. Despite reporting significant losses in Q4 of 2025, the company remains optimistic about its competitive position and future growth.
Under the new agreement, Viaplay's streaming platform will remain the home of the league in Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden. The service will broadcast all matches for the next two seasons including play-off semi-finals and finals at Wembley Stadium. The matches on Viaplay will feature English commentary with selected fixtures offering local-language commentary. Since securing exclusive streaming rights from 2022-23 season onwards, Viaplay has been broadcasting over 180 live matches from this competition annually.
Ben Wright, EFL chief commercial officer, said:
“With the support of our partners, we have been able to significantly grow the League’s global footprint and fanbase over recent years, and look forward to working more closely with the team at Viaplay Group in the Nordics.”
With the renewed deal, Viaplay is set to bolster its sports streaming portfolio by showcasing all 552 matches per season from the EFL Championship until the 2027-28 season. This agreement not only strengthens Viaplay's comprehensive coverage of English soccer, which includes top-flight Premier League games and various knockout competitions but also continues to highlight over 30 Nordic players who are integral parts of The Championship.
Financial performance
Despite these promising developments on content frontiers, Viaplay reported a substantial operating loss in Q4 of SEK637 million ($70.3 million). This was primarily due to previous content provisions and transaction costs tied to buying out former Allente partner Telenor.
Despite reporting a substantial loss of SEK637 million in Q4 2025, Viaplay Group's financial situation shows signs of improvement when compared to previous years. This loss is notably less than the massive SEK2.7 billion deficit incurred in 2023 during a strategic shift towards unscripted programs and sports. Furthermore, while the company's net sales for Q4 rose to SEK4.98 billion, there was a slight dip in full-year net sales from SEK18.5 billion in 2024 to SEK17.7 billion. However, on an encouraging note, Viaplay managed to reduce its annual losses from SEK558 million in 2024 down to SEK486 million.
Despite the losses, Viaplay is optimistic about its future. The integration of Allente is expected to generate annual synergies between SEK300 million and 400 million from 2027 onwards with some benefits realized in 2026 once integration is finalized.
The group expects stable organic sales in 2026 with growth in streaming subscription and digital advertising offsetting declines in linear channels, traditional advertising, and Allente’s DTH subscriber base. Viaplay also anticipates an annual EBITDA between SEK1 billion and SEK1.4 billion as it continues its transformation program benefiting from the Allente integration.
Expanding sports coverage
In addition to renewing its EFL Championship rights, Viaplay has been actively broadening its sports coverage. The Nordic media giant entered a new soccer content-sharing partnership with commercial broadcaster TV2, which covers over 3,000 matches annually from top-tier European leagues such as Spain's LaLiga, the German Bundesliga, and France's Ligue 1.
This deal also includes the UEFA Europa League and UEFA Conference League competitions. Furthermore, Viaplay secured exclusive rights to broadcast the European Handball Federation’s continental competitions through 2030 and skiing events in a deal with the International Ski & Snowboard Federation. Lastly, it acquired broadcasting rights for French soccer's top-tier Ligue 1 until 2029.
These strategic moves underline Viaplay’s commitment towards enhancing its sports offerings while navigating financial challenges on their path towards sustainable growth.
