Swedish public-service broadcaster SVT has secured a rights agreement for International Ice Hockey Federation events including the annual IIHF World Championship.
The deal is for six years, running from 2018 to 2023, and was brokered by the IIHF’s media and marketing partner, the Infront Sports & Media agency.
SVT will show the 16-nation IIHF World Championship every April or May during each year of the agreement, while it will also cover the World Championships Division I Group A and B across the same period.
Exclusive rights under the agreement include live, delayed, repeat and highlights coverage on free, pay and pay-per-view channels across Sweden.
Bruno Marty, Infront’s executive director of winter sports, said: “Sweden is a key territory for the sport of ice hockey, with both national team and club competitions drawing audiences in the millions. Securing long-term visibility for the IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship on free-TV was therefore pivotal for us.”
For the remaining two years of the current media rights cycle, commercial and pay-television broadcaster TV4 will continue to cover the IIHF World Championship in Sweden. The next two editions of the Championship take place in Russia in 2016 before Germany and France are joint hosts in 2017.