Viasat Extends Exclusive Deal on Formula One, PGA

STOCKHOLM: Viasat Broadcast has extended the terms of its exclusive broadcasting rights to motor racing’s FIA Formula One World Championship and golf’s American PGA Tour across select territories.

All of the rights—Formula One in Sweden, Norway and Denmark, and the American PGA Tour across the Nordic region, the Baltic states, Russia and Bulgaria—have been secured until the end of 2015. Live coverage of each season’s Formula One races and qualifying sessions will continue to be shown in Sweden and Norway on the region’s only dedicated motor sports channel, Viasat Motor, and on TV3 PULS in Denmark. Race highlights will be shown on the free-TV channel TV10 in Sweden and on Viasat4 in Norway.

U.S. PGA Tour golf will continue to be broadcast on pan-Nordic and Baltic dedicated golf channel Viasat Golf, as well as on Viasat Sport HD in Sweden and Norway. Coverage for the extended contract period between 2011 and 2015 will be available on Nova Sport in Bulgaria and on Viasat Sport East in Russia. The U.S. PGA Tour comprises a total of 600 hours of live broadcasting each year from the US PGA Tour itself, as well as the Nationwide Tour and the Champions Tour.

Hans-Holger Albrecht, the president and CEO of Modern Times Group, commented: “Formula One motor racing and American PGA golf are two of world sport’s hottest properties and already provide the backbone of our dedicated motor racing and golf pay-TV channels, as well as a key part of the content offering on our broader pay-TV sports channels. We are also able to maximise the value of the rights by airing coverage on our free-TV channels. The securing of these important rights until the end of 2015 reinforces our position as the leading premium pay-TV operator in the Nordic region, and follows the recent deals that have made us the only broadcaster to be showing English Premier League football across Scandinavia and in Bulgaria.”

Bernie Ecclestone, Formula One Management’s CEO, commented: “I am delighted to continue our association with Viasat.”

Tim Leisure, PGA Tour’s senior VP of international television, added: “We are very pleased to extend our partnership with Viasat over the next five years. The PGA Tour has had a considerable following from the region for a number of years. This, in large part, is due to the number of Nordic players who have become members of the PGA Tour and have had success, particularly from Sweden, including five-time winner Jesper Parnevik to 2009 Players Championship winner Henrik Stenson and recent RBC Canadian Open champion Carl Pettersson.”