NENT Group acquires exclusive Nordic rights to IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship from 2024 to 2028
- NENT Group becomes exclusive home in Sweden, Finland, Norway, Denmark and Iceland to five consecutive IIHF Ice Hockey World Championships
- NENT Group has the broadest portfolio of winter sports rights in the Nordic region
- NENT Group shows more than 50,000 hours of the world’s best live sporting action every year
Nordic Entertainment Group (NENT Group), the Nordic region’s leading streaming company, has acquired the exclusive Nordic media rights to the IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship from 2024 to 2028. NENT Group will already show the tournament in Sweden until 2023 and will now expand its world class coverage of the tournament across the entire Nordic region as part of its unrivalled winter sports offering. Every game will be shown live on NENT Group’s Viaplay streaming service and Viasat pay-TV channels, with selected games also broadcast on NENT Group’s free-TV channels.
The IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship is the world’s most prestigious annual tournament for international ice hockey teams, and consistently attracts large audiences of passionate fans. The Nordic countries have dominated the competition in recent years, with Finland winning in 2019 and Sweden lifting the trophy in both 2017 and 2018. The next tournament will be held in Switzerland in May 2020, with NENT Group as the exclusive broadcaster in Sweden.
For viewers in Sweden, NENT Group’s streaming services and TV channels have been practically synonymous with the IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship for 30 years. In 1989, NENT Group’s TV3 became the first commercial channel to broadcast the competition in Sweden. NENT Group has already secured the streaming rights to show the competition on Viaplay in Sweden every year until 2023, with the Swedish linear TV rights alternating between NENT Group and SVT each year until 2023. This is the first time that NENT Group has held the rights to the IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship in Finland and Iceland.
The range and depth of NENT Group’s winter sport offering are unparalleled in any major media market around the world. Every season, NENT Group delivers extensive coverage of NHL, KHL and CHL ice hockey to fans across the Nordic region, in addition to nearly 400 hours of ISU speed skating and figure skating. From 2021, NENT Group will also be the exclusive pan-Nordic home of FIS Alpine and Nordic skiing.
Anders Jensen, NENT Group President and CEO: “This ground-breaking agreement is as important as our FIS skiing deal earlier this year. The IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship is part of our DNA, and Viaplay will now become the home of this fantastic tournament in every Nordic country for many years to come. NENT Group will have the biggest and best winter sports portfolio in the world’s largest winter sports market, and we look forward to reaching more ice hockey fans in more countries on more platforms than ever before.”
Bruno Marty, Infront Senior Vice President of Spectator Sports: “This agreement with NENT Group – a well-established and proven partner to both the IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship and Infront – will ensure long-term consistency in exposure and quality, whilst providing the best possible coverage for the world’s top ice hockey tournament across the Nordic region.”
In addition to the IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship, NENT Group has acquired the rights to the IIHF World Championship Division 1 A and B from 2024 to 2028.
NENT Group brings millions of fans closer to the sports they love – every shot, every goal, every touchdown, every putt, every punch, every lap, every time. NENT Group shows more than 50,000 hours of the world’s best live sporting action every year on its streaming services and TV channels, including NHL and KHL ice hockey, UEFA Champions League, Premier League, Bundesliga and Ligue 1 football, Formula 1, IndyCar, NFL American football, boxing, UFC, tennis, basketball, handball and golf.
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NOTES TO EDITORS
Nordic Entertainment Group AB (publ) (NENT Group) is the Nordic region’s leading entertainment provider. We entertain millions of people every day with our streaming services, TV channels and radio stations, and our production companies create content that is experienced around the world. We make life more entertaining by telling stories, touching lives and expanding worlds – from live sports, movies and series to music and original shows. Headquartered in Stockholm, NENT Group is listed on Nasdaq Stockholm (‘NENT A’ and ‘NENT B’).
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