The Walt Disney Company has made its entry into the Nordics sports rights market, landing exclusive rights to the Uefa Europa League and Conference League in Denmark and Sweden for the next three seasons.
The competitions come at a lower entry point than the elite Champions League but enables Disney to secure locally relevant content and ascertain the levels of appetite among sports consumers for its Disney+ streaming service ahead of more potentially lucrative rights spend. It is also the latest sign of a challenge to Viaplay’s hold over the Nordic market, as Amazon, and now Disney, seek to take advantage of softer market conditions given the broadcaster’s financial distress and ensuing reorganisation.
For the 2024-25 to 2026-27 seasons, Disney+ will be the only place to watch Europe’s second- and third-tier club competitions in Denmark and Sweden. The agreement covers 342 matches per season, across 19 match weeks, and all games will be included at no extra cost to Disney+ customers.
In Denmark, Disney will succeed TV2, the government-owned subscription and free-to-air broadcaster, as the Europa League and Conference League rights-holder, while Viaplay currently holds the rights in Sweden (as well as in Norway and Finland).
Last week, Norway’s biggest commercial media company, TV 2 Group, announced it had renewed exclusive Champions League rights in the country for the 2024-27 cycle.
Team Marketing went to market with Uefa club competition media rights in the Nordics for the 2024-27 cycle in late October, with first-round bids due back in late November.
The once buoyant Nordics market has become a tricky one for sellers since Viaplay began severe cost-cutting measures last year. Indeed, the TV 2 deal was the first announcement of a new Uefa club competition deal in the region.
Viaplay’s struggles have opened the door to US streaming giants to push their platforms.
Just last month, Amazon made its first sports move in the region, striking a sub-licensing deal with Viaplay to stream one match from each of the 38 rounds of the English Premier League, equal to 10 per cent of the Viaplay inventory, in local language commentary in both Denmark and Sweden.
That contract begins with the 2024-25 season and runs to the end of the 2027-28 campaign, when Viaplay’s exclusive six-year contract with the Premier League expires. The Amazon deal does not include Finland and Norway, where Viaplay also holds Premier League rights.
Hans van Rijn, senior vice-president and country manager of The Walt Disney Company for the Nordic and Baltic regions, said today (Tuesday): “I’m very, very happy. It has taken a long time to bid for and secure the rights, so we are extremely pleased to have reached the finish line. It’s a next step for us.”
He continued: “These leagues combined are the international football tournaments with most local Danish and Swedish teams and local Danish and Swedish players and adding them to the service together brings a whole new level of variety to customers in Denmark and Sweden. Our mission is to super serve the communities and fans that are passionate about the game, while broadening the audience for the tournaments in Denmark and Sweden, building a new generation of fans and supporters.”
The cheapest subscription package to Disney+ in Denmark at present costs DKK49 (€6.57/$6.97) per month and in Sweden costs SEK59 (€5.07/$5.39) per month.
Osmanbegovic hire
The announcement of the Europa League and Conference League rights acquisitions come on the same day as Emir Osmanbegovic confirmed he had joined Disney as sports lead for Sweden.
Osmanbegovic came to prominence in the international sports business sector during the Discovery-led restructuring of Eurosport in March 2018 that followed Peter Hutton’s departure as chief executive. It was at that time that Osmanbegovic was named to a position heading up Eurosport’s international sports production, along with regional sports production, including Olympic production.
His time in charge of Discovery Networks Sweden’s sports operation coincided with Discovery’s push for premium local content in the Nordic region. He returned to the company in September 2020 on a full-time consultancy basis in a role overseeing the broadcaster’s production in Sweden of domestic football and the Olympics, with that contract ending after the 2022 winter Olympics in Beijing.