MTG Extends English Premier League Rights in Scandinavia

STOCKHOLM: Modern Times Group (MTG) has secured another three years of English Premier League soccer matches, adding Finland to a coverage that includes Sweden and Denmark.

MTG will exclusively air live games for the 2016-17 to 2018-19 seasons. The matches will be shown on a combination of MTG’s Viasat and other TV channels and the Viaplay online streaming service. For the 2016-17 Premier League season, coverage will include for the first time games on Friday evenings, joining the matches on Saturday, Sunday and Monday.

The group has held the rights since 2010 in Sweden and Denmark. The upcoming season will mark the first time it shows Premier League soccer in Finland.

“Premier League is hands down the most popular national club football league in the world, and has a large, loyal and growing following in Scandinavia,” said Jørgen Madsen Lindemann, MTG’s president and CEO. “We’re very happy to have extended this successful partnership with the Premier League, and that viewers will enjoy live coverage of so many great games from August to May each year.”

“Our Nordic sports portfolio is quite simply unrivaled, and winning the Premier League rights secures this position for years to come,” added Peter Nørrelund, MTG’s senior VP of sports. “We will make the next three years of coverage better than ever with our talented production and commentary teams, and the broad availability of these fantastic sporting events on multiple TV platforms.”

“We are extremely pleased that MTG has invested in our rights not only in Sweden and Denmark, but in Finland as well,” remarked Richard Scudamore, the Premier League’s executive chairman. “They have done a fantastic job broadcasting the Barclays Premier League in the past, and will continue to do so through 2018/19. These markets are incredibly important to the Premier League, with their long-established and knowledgeable fan bases. We look forward to working with MTG as they continue to bring first-rate Premier League coverage to our supporters across the region.”