Viaplay Group has secured the exclusive rights to football from the men’s UEFA Champions League in Sweden and Denmark, exclusive rights to the UEFA Europa League and UEFA Conference League in Norway and Finland, and shared rights to the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League and UEFA Conference League in Iceland up to and including the 2026/2027 season, where it will share the rights with Sýn. The new agreement starts this autumn and means fans will be able to follow the competitions live on Viaplay Group’s platforms.
Through weekly matches featuring leading sides such as Real Madrid, Barcelona, Manchester City, Arsenal, Liverpool, Bayern Munich, Internazionale and Paris Saint-Germain, the UEFA Champions League ranks as one of the world’s most-viewed sports competitions. The most recent final, in Istanbul in June 2023, aired in over 200 countries with an estimated global unique reach of 450 million individuals.
Jørgen Madsen Lindemann, Viaplay Group President and CEO: “UEFA’s club competitions showcase European club football at its very highest level. This new agreement shows our laser focus on securing content that is relevant and attractive for many viewers, and that offers proven commercial possibilities. We are especially proud to renew the UEFA Champions League in Denmark, meaning we remain the only broadcaster in the world to have shown all matches from every UEFA Champions League season since its inception in 1992, and to become the competition’s home once more in Sweden, where our live sports line-up is the best and broadest in the business.”
Peter Nørrelund, Viaplay Group EVP and Chief Sports & Business Development Officer: “Football fans across the Nordic region know that European nights on Viaplay are something special. As always, we will deliver world-class studios and the sharpest experts, alongside local language commentary, exclusive behind-the-scenes documentaries and much more. And with the new UEFA club competitions format, we will have even more top-quality football to offer our viewers in the years to come.”
From the 2024/2025 season, more teams will participate in the competitions and the format and match calendar will both evolve. Every club will play at least eight league phase games against eight different opponents, with four home games and four away, rather than six matches against three opponents as at present. The changes are designed to increase the number of marquee matches and add jeopardy to as many games as possible. The UEFA Champions League will now deliver 203 live matches a season spread across 19 match weeks, compared with 137 games over 17 match weeks as at present. In season 2024/25, the UEFA Super Cup will again be played at the start of the season, prior to the play-off rounds. Matches will continue to be split between two kick-off slots, and in the 2024-2027 cycle these split kick-offs will be used up to the quarter-final stage.
In all Nordic countries, the Viaplay streaming service is available on both a direct-to-consumer basis and through distribution partnerships with major telecom and TV operators. Viaplay Group’s pay-TV channels in Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland are broadly available through distributors. Viaplay Group’s premium Nordic sports portfolio also includes Premier League, Bundesliga and Danish Superliga football, Formula 1, NHL ice hockey, FIS winter sports, IHF and EHF handball, and golf majors.