Launch date set for Eurosport’s Norwegian channel

International media and entertainment company Discovery Communications has confirmed the new regional version of its Eurosport pan-European channel will launch in Norway on September 3.

Eurosport Norge will open with live coverage of the Uefa Euro 2016 national team qualifying game between Azerbaijan and Croatia on September 3, with Norway competing in the same group as the two teams.

During its opening month of operation, Eurosport Norge will also broadcast the 2015 Solheim Cup women’s golf tournament, for which Norway’s Suzann Pettersen (pictured) will be a key part of Europe’s bid to defend the trophy against the United States at Golf Club St. Leon-Rot in Germany from September 18-20.

Eurosport Norge will be the home of PGA Tour golf, additional qualifiers for Euro 2016 and club football from the Uefa Europa League, German Bundesliga and North America’s Major League Soccer, along with the 2016 and 2017 Ice Hockey World Championships.

Harald Strømme, head of basic-tier broadcaster TVNorge and the Discovery Group, said the creation of Eurosport Norge will open up more opportunities to accommodate sports content.

“We are now sitting on significant sports rights and sports are an important focus in the future,” he said. “With a local 24-hour sports channel we can utilise better all the rights we are sitting on. The Olympics is a good example of a massive contract where viewers will benefit from having more channels from us.”

Discovery and Eurosport in June acquired television and multi-platform rights in a host of European markets, including Norway, for four editions of the Olympic Games, from 2018 to 2024.

Strømme added that negotiations are continuing for carriage deals for the new channel, adding that it will initially be available through Canal Digital Parabol and Canal Digital Kabel-TV, along with a streaming provision via the Dplay digital service.