Discovery & Canal Digital Settle Carriage Dispute

STOCKHOLM: Canal Digital and Discovery have reached new distribution terms, bringing to an end a dispute that caused Discovery Channel, Eurosport and TV Norge, among other services, to go dark in the Nordic region.

Channels such as TV Norge in Norway, Kanal 5 in Sweden and Denmark, Discovery Channel, TLC, ID and Eurosport were dropped from the Canal Digital cable and satellite networks in Norway, Sweden and Denmark on February 1 after Discovery’s current contract with Canal Digital’s parent company, Telenor, expired. The two had been unable to reach a new agreement due to pricing terms.

Under the new agreement, local content and signature series such as 71 degrees North, Summer and Just Perfect will be made available on Canal Digital’s products T-We and GO. The new agreement also includes Premier League coverage.

Ragnar Kårhus, the CEO of Canal Digital, commented: “We are very happy that we now have arrived at a solution, which means that our customers again get the opportunity to see TV Norge and Discovery channels. This is a forward-looking agreement that gives customers access to good local and international content tailored to customers’ usage habits. In addition, we are happy to provide more football to the people, cheaper and more accessible.”

“There is no doubt that customers have missed Discovery channels recently,” he continued. “I would like to thank our customers for [the] patience and commitment they have shown. We know that our customers are concerned about good local content and it has also been our main focus in the negotiations. I cannot go into details about the agreement, but I can confirm that we have prioritized content that our customers are most concerned about, and that customers should not have unreasonable price increases.”

Harald Stromme, the CEO of TV Norge and Discovery Networks Norway, said: “I am primarily glad that we are back on the screen shortly, and I will apologize to viewers who have patiently endured these two weeks. Along with Canal Digital, we have arrived at a solution that enables us to continue to invest in good Norwegian content. We are especially happy to land this agreement before Sunday’s three major premieres.

“This has been demanding negotiations, but we have finally arrived at a good solution, especially for viewers. They will now have access to more Norwegian football, cheaper, in the coming years. Telenor and Canal Digital are important contributors and supporters when from 2017 can realize our ‘football to the people’ vision. We are also pleased that we can finally continue the good cooperation we had with Telenor.”