Viaplay ties up national team football ahead of UK launch

Viaplay has agreed a deal to exclusively show Scottish, Welsh, and Northern Irish national team football in the UK from 2024.

It will air all European Qualifiers to the FIFA World Cup 2026 and UEFA EURO 2028, UEFA Nations League 2024/25 and 2026/27 and international friendlies involving the teams exclusively in UK. These will join a large range of international football on the upcoming streaming service, including Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain in the same competitions.

The deal covers Sweden, Iceland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania in addition to the UK market. In the UK, Viaplay will take the rights from Sky Sports.

Viaplay is set to launch in the UK in the second half of 2022, with further details on content and pricing yet to be announced. It will feature ice hockey, martial arts, ice skating, athletics and more.

Anders Jensen, NENT Group president and CEO, said: “This is Viaplay’s biggest UK sports milestone so far. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have exciting young teams that millions of fans will be able to follow exclusively on our world-class platform. These matches are in good hands – we work closely with UEFA in the Nordic and Baltic regions, and know how much national sides mean to supporters.

“Viaplay’s multi-territory partnerships with rights holders will be a key advantage as we challenge further in the UK sports market. The timing is also advantageous, with these rights coming on stream in 2024, which allows us time to build our UK brand and to innovate the Viaplay viewing experience even further.”

Guy-Laurent Epstein, marketing director at UEFA, added: “We are delighted to enter this new partnership with Viaplay with its expansion into the UK. Viaplay will provide a comprehensive and innovative home for the Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales National Team matches, as well as for all other third-party European national team matches played during the European Qualifiers for FIFA World Cup 2026 and UEFA EURO 2028, as well as the UEFA Nations League 2024 and 2026, including the UEFA Nations League Finals in 2025 and 2027.

“With Viaplay’s long-lasting football track record, we are confident that football fans across the UK will be part of the journey of each of the Home Nations and will be offered excellent coverage of the UEFA National Team Football competitions between 2024 and 2028, whichever screen they choose to use.”

NENT Group is set to rebrand as Viaplay Group once the change is approved at its AGM on 18 May.