Discovery-owned international sports broadcaster Eurosport has announced its plans to broadcast Norway’s Eliteserien across its linear and OTT streaming platforms across Europe.
The top-tier of Norwegian football is traditionally played between April and November but the 2020 season has been delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The league is now scheduled to begin on June 16.
Eurosport will exploit the Eliteserien rights on its Eurosport 1 linear channel and Eurosport Player, its subscription OTT platform, across the continent.
Eurosport already holds the rights across Europe, including exclusive rights in the Norwegian domestic market, as part of its six-season agreement that runs from 2017 to 2022. The deal was struck at the end of 2015 as Discovery sealed the rights to the top two divisions in a deal worth NOK400m (€37.9m/$42.9m) per season.
Eurosport France had already announced its plans to broadcast the league and SportBusiness reported last month that Eurosport was considering the roll-out of the coverage across Europe, with the measures for production and staffing during the Covid-19 pandemic being defined.
Eurosport 1 and Eurosport Player will broadcast four matches from Matchday 1 (two matches each on June 16 and 17), two matches from Matchday 2 (one match each on June 20 and 21) and four matches from Matchday 3 (two matches each on June 24 and 25).
Andrew Georgiou, president, Eurosport and global sports rights and sports marketing solutions, said today (Friday): “By showing the Eliteserien to fans across the continent, Discovery and Eurosport is using its various channels and platforms to bring its portfolio of live sport to even more people. Our scale and expertise mean we have the rights-holder relationships and content to give fans the best possible offer at this challenging time – and increasingly enjoying the return of live sport.”
In the league’s domestic market, Discovery will broadcast every match from the Eliteserien in 2020.
Four matches per matchweek will be screened on TVNorge and Eurosport Norge with the remaining matches to be shown on Discovery’s affiliate channels. All matches will also be available in Norway via OTT platforms DPlay and Eurosport Player.