Increased distribution for Discovery's Nordic channels in TDC agreements

Discovery Communications, the international media giant that owns Eurosport, has struck distribution agreements in both Denmark and Norway with TDC, the Scandinavian telecoms operator.

Under the terms of the new deals, which were announced this afternoon, the Discovery-owned Eurosport, Kanal 4, Kanal 5 and Kanal 6 channels will become available to the 1.3 million customers of YouSee, the TDC-owned cable TV platform.

The sports coverage available includes the European qualifying matches for the 2018 World Cup, rights acquired by Discovery in 2013.

YouSee will also be able to offer their customers access to Discovery content on their smartphones.

Meanwhile, the agreement in Norway ensures distribution on the TDC-owned GET cable TV platform of the Eurosport, TV Norge, Max, FEM and other Discovery-owned channels.

Discovery said that the partnership would make Norwegian soccer’s top-tier Eliteserien more widely available when the 2017 season kicks off in April, with more matches broadcast across more screens.

The TDC deal supplements Eliteserien distribution agreements between Discovery and Canal Digital, Altibox and RiksTV.

At the end of 2015, Discovery penned a record six-year deal for exclusive Eliteserien rights from 2017 to 2022, an agreement worth around NKr2.4 billion ($283 million) in total, the largest-ever rights agreement in Norwegian sport.

Mike Lang, president of international development, digital and Discovery Nordics, commented: “I’m delighted that Discovery will continue to work with TDC in Denmark and Norway in the years ahead following our ground-breaking distribution deal. Today marks our first major mobile deal for [OTT service] Eurosport Player and enables our fans in the Nordics to more readily access Discovery-owned content across all screens.”

Sportcal