Hot Picks: Haaland: Breaking Ground

Anyone with even the faintest interest in football will know that Norwegian footballer Erling Braut Haaland had a remarkable debut season at Manchester City, scoring goals for fun as his team won the Uefa Champions League, English Premier League (EPL) and FA Cup. Along the way, he broke the EPL scoring record with 36 goals in 35 games.

This summer, streaming platform Viaplay was granted access to Haaland’s home in Jæren, where the young star looked back on the season and talked about his relationship with coach Pep Guardiola. These insights, along with his thoughts about life off the pitch, have now been compiled into a 1 x 26-minute documentary: Haaland: Breaking Ground.

Explaining how the project came about, Alexandra Aldred, vice-president of Viaplay Select and Content Distribution, says it is the latest leg in an ongoing collaboration with Haaland and his management team: “Viaplay has a long-term, multi-market partnership that gives us unprecedented access to Haaland. This allows us unique insights into both his meteoric career and his closely guarded personal life.”

In terms of content, this partnership kicked off last year with a documentary called Haaland: The Big Decision, “about his many transfer possibilities and final conclusion to go for Manchester City”.

“We built a good relationship and that created the possibility for further co-operation between Haaland and the Viaplay sports department,” says Aldred.

After The Big Decision came Haaland Conquers England, in which the City striker sat down with Liverpool legend Jan Mølby to unpack his meteoric rise in the Premier League and discuss life at the top of global sport.

In this third documentary, audiences can enjoy “candid reflections on trophies, Guardiola and the media spotlight”.

“Erling Haaland has redefined excellence and moved the benchmark a couple of notches higher. He has taken the sports world by storm, and his insights into all this make for great viewing”

The documentary is built around Haaland’s recollections of the season just gone. “There is also a mix of interviews, interspersed with goals and highlights from the season. The interviews are with a range of leading talent including Alan Shearer, Gary Lineker, Jamie Redknapp, Pep Guardiola and Erling’s ex-footballing father, Alfie Haaland.”

The show will be available to buyers at Mipcom and Aldred is upbeat about its global sales potential: “It offers unfiltered access to the biggest name in football right now,” she says. “Erling Haaland has redefined excellence and moved the benchmark a couple of notches higher. He has taken the sports world by storm, and his insights into all this make for great viewing.

“With unique content featuring a sports star of such high calibre, we anticipate this documentary will have appeal on multiple platforms, both linear and digital.”

Aldred’s confidence in Breaking Ground’s prospects are reinforced by Viaplay’s experience with licensing sports content. Sales for the previous Haaland docs have been secured with partners such as CBS, ZDF Germany and Canal+ France.