The Nordic Entertainment (Nent) Group has acquired rights for the World Padel Tour, a global organiser of events featuring the racquet sport, which is popular in Spanish-speaking countries.
Under the deal, Nent’s Viaplay streaming service will hold exclusive rights in the Nordic region for the next four seasons of the tour, from 2020 to 2023.
As part of the agreement, Nent will also “develop and stream” the Viaplay Padel Open, a new tournament that will be launched for amateur padel players across the Nordic region.
Viaplay will provide coverage of competitions for men and women – with the contests typically played in doubles.
Recent seasons of the tour have featured tournaments in Spain, Central and South America, as well as the UK and Sweden as the sport has attempted to enter new markets. The 2020 season will begin on February 29 with the Marbella Masters in Spain.
Nent described padel as “the world’s fastest growing sport by participation” with 12 million players across 78 countries, according to the International Padel Federation.
Nent’s group head of sport, Kim Mikkelsen, said: “Padel is an all-action spectacle that already attracts millions of players around the world. As the region’s leading streaming company, we have a unique opportunity to lead the growth of this global phenomenon in the Nordic countries over the next four seasons.”
Nent has strengthened its rights portfolio with a spate of deals over recent months.
In November, the company secured rights for the Ski Classics series of long-distance skiing events in Denmark and Iceland, building on more high-profile winter sports deals, including a contract to show exclusive coverage in Nordic countries of the IIHF World Championships and the two annual Division I tournaments from 2024 to 2028.
In December, Nent extended a rights deal in the region for the UFC mixed martial arts championship.