Danish pay-television broadcasters Modern Times Group and TV2 Sport will demand compensation from clubs in the Superliga, the top tier of domestic football, if league matches are moved from evening to morning kick-off times to prevent hooliganism and fan violence.
Denmark’s Justice Minister Morten Bødskov this week announced that he will grant police the right to move games to morning kick-offs to tackle hooliganism. Rioting marred the game between AaB and FC København on Sunday.
The Divionsforeningen body, which represents the Superliga clubs, in September sealed a record three-year broadcast rights deal for the Danish domestic league, covering the 2012-13 to 2014-15 season, worth over DKK1 billion (€134.5 million/$180.1 million).
Viasat Sport and TV2 Sport warned that the removal of top games from evening slots would have a severe effect on their television ratings and the value of their rights deals. MTG’s head of sport, Peter Nørrelund, told Danish sports website Sporten: “The value of TV rights will fall in price. I think we are talking about a halving of the viewing figures for morning matches against those at 18:00. If we have to pay so much money for football, then we also have some commercial potential to scrape the money back, and when our options are being degraded, it is clear that it will have a direct knock-on effect.”
MTG shows Superliga matches on its Viasat Sport pay-television channels. TV2 Sport is a joint-venture between MTG and Danish basic-tier broadcaster TV2.