NENT Group strengthens sports offering for international expansion

Streaming, free and pay TV outfit Nordic Entertainment Group (NENT Group) has renewed its media rights partnership with Matchroom Sport in Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland and extended it to Iceland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland for the first time.

The deal is the latest struck by NENT Group as it expands Viaplay internationally, initially in the Baltic states and subsequently in Poland, where sport is central to its proposition.

The new five-year agreement secures more than 700 hours annually of live streamed sports action from Matchroom Sport’s portfolio for NENT Group’s Viaplay streaming service.

The agreement makes Viaplay the exclusive home of top darts tournaments such as the World Darts Championship, Premier League Darts, World Cup of Darts, World Matchplay, World Grand Prix, European Championship, Grand Slam of Darts and the Players Championship, in addition to the World Series of Darts Finals to be held this year in Amsterdam.

The deal also includes snooker’s Champion of Champions and Championship League events on Viaplay, along with the World Pool Masters, World Pool Championship, World Cup of Pool, US Open 9-Ball Championships and the Mosconi Cup. The agreement includes a comprehensive range of further content including table tennis, ten-pin bowling, basketball and netball.

Peter Nørrelund, NENT Group Chief Sports Officer said: “Our vision is to be the European streaming champion, which means Viaplay should offer something for everyone. We co-operate closely with Matchroom in the Nordic region and will now bring live coverage of some of Europe’s fastest growing sports to our newest markets. We work continuously with rights holders to develop sports properties together, so this agreement is great news for these sports and their fans across Viaplay’s rapidly expanding footprint.”

Barry Hearn, president of Matchroom said: “We’re delighted to expand our existing partnership with NENT Group over the next few years offering sports fans fantastic access to some of the biggest moments in sport on Viaplay. NENT Group has been huge supporters of our sports over the years and we hope this continues to grow.”