Disney+, the streaming service owned by the Disney entertainment and media giant, has secured rights to show the next three seasons of pan-European soccer’s UEFA Europa League and Conference League in Denmark and Sweden.
Through a tie-up with governing body UEFA unveiled yesterday (April 15), Disney+ will cover the 2024-25, 2025-26, and 2026-27 campaigns from the second-tier and third-tier club competitions.
Currently, both the Europa League and the Europa Conference League (that competition will have its name shortened at the end of this season) are being shown in Denmark by commercial broadcaster TV2 across the 2021-24 cycle, and in Sweden by the Viaplay streaming service.
A tender for UEFA pan-European competition media rights in those markets was issued in late October by UEFA's Team Marketing partner agency with a deadline for bids of November 28 (the same timeframe was also applied in the other Nordic countries).
No clubs from either Denmark or Sweden remain in either the Europa League or Conference League for 2023-24, as both competitions move through the quarter-final stage.
FC Copenhagen did, however, make it through to the knockout stages of the Champions League, before losing over two legs to last year’s winners, England’s Manchester City.
Hans van Rijn, senior vice president and country manager for the Nordics at The Walt Disney Company, said: “We have extensive experience in sports through our sports channel ESPN and are dedicated to creating high-quality productions for the players, fans and our customers on Disney+.
“Our goal is to have the best offer for the fans and fan groups who are passionate about football, while at the same time, we want to spread the tournaments to a larger audience in Denmark and open them up to a new generation of fans and supporters.”
In terms of other major soccer media rights in Denmark, Viaplay and TV2 share rights to the domestic Superliga through the 2029-30 campaign.