The Nordic Entertainment Group (Nent) has expanded its long-running distribution agreement with Altibox, the Norwegian IPTV operator.
From later in the year, Altibox viewers will receive access to Nent’s Viaplay streaming service as part of their subscriptions for the first time, along with continued access to Nent’s Viasat pay-television offering and Norwegian television channels TV3, Viasat4 and TV6.
Nent’s extensive sports rights portfolio includes football’s English Premier League, Uefa Champions League, French Ligue 1 and German Bundesliga; the NFL ; NHL; Formula 1; and, from the 2021-22 season onwards, International Ski Federation (FIS) events.
Altibox will continue to offer Nent’s premium Viasat film and sports pay-television channels, along with the Viasat FilmFavoritter on-demand film library.
Altibox chief executive Tor Morten Osmundsen said: “This agreement is in line with our strategy to expand our entertainment services to our consistently growing number of customers.”
Earlier this week, Nent renewed its distribution contract in Sweden with telecoms and cable operator Com Hem, through which Viaplay will now be available as part of the TV Guld top-tier pay-television package. Nent’s Swedish channels TV3, TV6, TV8 and TV10 will also continue to be available to customers of Com Hem and Boxer, the pay-television platform owned by Com Hem.
Nent was the first broadcaster to announce that it would not be paying any rights fees for properties postponed by the Covid-19 pandemic until they recommence.
Nent also has long-term distribution agreements in place with Boxer, Stofa, Waoo and YouSee in Denmark; Canal Digital, Get, NextGenTel, RiksTV and Telenor in Norway; A3, Bahnhof, Connect TV, Kalejdo, Mediateknik, Ownit, Sappa, Serverado, Telia and Universal Telecom in Sweden; and DNA, Elisa and Telia in Finland.
Nent also launched Viaplay in Iceland on April 1, expanding its streaming service to all five Nordic countries.