Viasat Sport Expands Hockey Slate

STOCKHOLM: Viasat Broadcasting has secured the exclusive live broadcasting pay-TV rights to Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) for the next three years on Viasat Sport Baltic.

The deal covers at least 64 games per season from the league, which includes 21 teams from the Russian federation and three from Latvia, Belarus and Kazakhstan respectively. The three-year deal kicks off in the 2009/2010 season. Two games per week will be broadcast during the regular season. Eighteen games from the playoffs are included as well as the All-Star game.

“This is an exiting addition, especially for Latvia, where ice hockey is the most popular team sport," said Karolis Dapkevicius, the head of Viasat Sport Baltic. "We already have the rights to the Ice Hockey World Championships and Champions Hockey League. KHL is a perfect complement as it is the most ambitious ice hockey league in Eastern Europe.”