Viaplay Group renews UFC rights in Nordics in a multi-year deal
- Viaplay to show over 40 live UFC events every year
- Extended agreement includes every UFC numbered event and Fight Night
- Upcoming events on 13 January and 20 January available live on Viaplay in Sweden, Finland, Denmark and Norway
Viaplay Group has extended its exclusive rights to show UFC, the world’s leading mixed martial arts (MMA) organisation, in four Nordic countries in a new multi-year agreement. Fight fans in Sweden, Finland, Denmark and Norway can look forward to more than 40 live UFC events on the Viaplay streaming service each year, including all UFC numbered events and Fight Nights. The new agreement reinforces Viaplay Group’s position as the Nordic home of the most popular and commercially attractive live sports.
Viaplay’s next UFC event will be UFC FIGHT NIGHT: ANKALAEV VS. WALKER 2 on 13 January, followed by the year’s first numbered event, UFC 297: STRICKLAND VS. DU PLESSIS, on 20 January from Toronto’s Scotiabank Arena, headlined by a middleweight title bout between Sean Strickland and Dricus du Plessis, and Raquel Pennington vs. Mayra Bueno Silva for the women’s bantamweight crown.
In addition to every main card fight, which will be shown with local language commentary, Viaplay will show preliminary bouts from all events when a Nordic fighter is competing. UFC’s current roster includes local stars such as Alexander Gustafsson, Pannie Kianzad and Josefine Knutsson (Sweden), Nicolas Dalby, Damir Hadžović and Mark Madsen (Denmark), and Jack Hermansson and Ivana Petrović (Norway).
Peter Nørrelund, Viaplay Group EVP and Chief Sports & Business Development Officer: “No MMA promotion attracts a bigger audience than UFC, in the Nordic region or worldwide. Extending our long-term partnership with UFC reflects our commitment to offering the most relevant sports to our viewers, and to supporting MMA’s ongoing growth. We look forward to bringing spectacular fight action to even more fans over the coming years on Viaplay as part of our unique live sports portfolio.”
David Shaw, UFC Executive Vice President of International and Content: “We have had a long partnership with Viaplay and we really couldn’t ask for a better counterpart to help grow our brand in the Nordics. Their passion and dedication to UFC has been instrumental to our business, and we look forward to continuing to build stars and deliver the best MMA events in the world to our fans in the Nordics.”
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NOTES TO EDITORS
Viaplay Group AB (publ) is the international entertainment provider. Our Viaplay streaming service is available direct-to-consumer in every Nordic and Baltic country, Poland, the Netherlands, the UK, the US and Canada. Every day, millions of customers enjoy our unique entertainment offering, including acclaimed Viaplay Series, Films and more, and an unrivalled line-up of premium live sports. In addition, our innovative Viaplay Select branded content concept makes Viaplay’s compelling storytelling available to partners around the world. From streaming to TV channels, radio stations and production companies, our purpose is to tell stories, touch lives and expand worlds. Viaplay Group is listed on Nasdaq Stockholm (‘VPLAY B’).
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