Norwegian pay-television provider Canal Digital is upping the price for access to premium sports channels from TV2 amid higher rights costs paid by the commercial and pay-television broadcaster.
The TV2 Sport Premium channels showcase the broadcaster’s English football coverage, headlined by the English Premier League, to which TV2 holds rights until the end of the 2021-22 season. Subscribers can also watch TV2’s Serie A, LaLiga, Uefa Champions League and Europa League coverage on TV2 Sport 1.
Canal Digital will increase the monthly price of its TV2 Sport Premium offering by 40 per cent, from NOK499 (€45.45/$53.14) to NOK699. The new pricing will be effective from November 1.
The increase comes with TV2 pushing up the asking price for distributors such as Canal Digital.
TV2 told Norwegian newspaper VG that it has raised the price of its package due to an increase in the cost of sports rights, saying: “The rights costs have increased significantly from the previous rights period, and therefore a price increase is needed now.”
IPTV operator Altibox will also raise the price of its TV2 Sport Premium package from NOK499 to NOK649 per month from December 1.
Altibox told Norwegian news website Kampanje: “We have increased the price corresponding to the increase we have received from TV2. Altibox believes we should not profit from this price increase and we are not going to make any profit from this price increase.”
Pay-television operator RiksTV will also increase the price of its TV2 Sport Premium package, although specific details have not been confirmed.
TV2 last year struck a deal for its TV2 Sport 1 channel to be made available on Canal Digital and fellow pay-television provider Telenor Norway.
As is stands, the 2021-22 season will mark TV2’s last covering the Premier League, with media company Nordic Entertainment Group (Nent) having acquired exclusive rights in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden in a landmark deal covering the 2022-23 to 2027-28 seasons.