Bundesliga International agrees four-year extension with NENT for Nordic region
- NENT Group to show more than 300 live Bundesliga games every season
- Partnership agreed until 2025
10 February 2020 – Earlier today Bundesliga International announced that Nordic Entertainment Group (NENT Group), the Nordic region’s leading streaming company, has extended its exclusive pan-Nordic media rights for the German league until 2025. Bundesliga International is a subsidiary of the DFL Deutsche Fußball Liga which, among other things, markets the audiovisual media rights to the games in the licensed leagues for all platforms internationally.
Under the new agreement, NENT Group will show more than 300 live Bundesliga games on its Viaplay streaming service every season and selected games on its linear TV channels. The deal also includes the exclusive pan-Nordic rights to the German Supercup, Bundesliga 2 and the Bundesliga relegation playoff-matches. NENT Group already holds the pan-Nordic Bundesliga rights until 2021.
They will deliver studio productions that enable fans to follow some of the Nordic region’s most popular superstars on a weekly basis. In addition to expert studio analysis and extensive local language commentary, NENT Group will show at least one Bundesliga match a week in Ultra High Definition format. Selected games will also be available on NENT Group’s free-TV channels.
Amongst the 23 Nordic stars currently playing in the Bundesliga are Thomas Delaney and Yussuf Poulsen (Denmark); Emil Forsberg, Robin Quaison and Oscar Wendt (Sweden); Lukáš Hrádecký (Finland); and Alfreð Finnbogason (Iceland). In January 2020, 19-year old Norwegian striking sensation Erling Braut Håland scored a 23-minute hat-trick on his Borussia Dortmund debut and has since netted a record-breaking seven goals in his first three Bundesliga games. An additional 20 players from the region are also appearing in Bundesliga 2.
Kim Mikkelsen, NENT Group Head of Sport, said: “The Bundesliga is one of Europe’s best and most exciting leagues, and holds enormous interest from a Nordic perspective. This long-term deal means fans can see many of the region’s biggest talents every week on Viaplay, including Erling Braut Håland – the first teenager in the league’s history to score seven goals in only three Bundesliga games. NENT Group is the Nordic region’s leading streaming company and the breadth of our football coverage is simply in a league of its own.”
Robert Klein, Bundesliga International CEO, said: “Over the past few years NENT Group has taken coverage of the Bundesliga to the next level across the Nordic region. This has been helped by the strong connections the league has with Nordic fans. They’re attracted by the pure, entertaining soccer we describe as ‘Football As It’s Meant To Be’. This authenticity is why so many Nordic stars have made a significant impact in Germany.” Klein continued: “We look forward to capitalising on this as we continue to develop the positive relationship we have built with NENT Group.”