Swedish firm pips Canal Plus to Premier League rights
A niche Swedish sports rights consultancy has snagged the exclusive rights to broadcast English Premier League football matches in Sweden and the rest of the Nordic region from media giant Canal Plus.
Stockholm-based Medge Consulting edged out Canal Plus, current broadcaster of matches from England’s top league, for the right to air Premier League matches in the Nordic region for the next three seasons.
“We are both pleased and proud to have secured for Medge Consulting what are arguably the most prestigious football rights in the world today", Peter Liljestrand, co-owner of Medge Consulting, said in a statement.
“The Nordic region has a strong connection and history with the Premier League and we are keen to maintain this close association going into the future.”
Liljestrand, a former Canal Plus executive, founded Medge in 2007 along with television sports veteran Timothy Smart.
According to the Svenska Dagblaget (SvD) newspaper, Medge paid roughly €100 million ($144 million) to land the exclusive rights for live Premier League broadcasts, as well as all repeats, highlights, news rights, mobile and internet rights for the Nordic region.
Liljestrand, however, refused to confirm the deal’s price tag.
“I’m not going to comment on any information about the price. But we have independent foreign capital to back the entire deal,” Liljestrand told the newspaper.
Medge is now set to begin negotiations for how the rights will be distributed across various broadcasters in the Nordic countries.
Liljestrand also indicated to SvD that Medge is interested in pursuing broadcast rights for matches from the top football leagues in Italy and Spain.
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Stockholm-based Medge Consulting edged out Canal Plus, current broadcaster of matches from England’s top league, for the right to air Premier League matches in the Nordic region for the next three seasons.
“We are both pleased and proud to have secured for Medge Consulting what are arguably the most prestigious football rights in the world today", Peter Liljestrand, co-owner of Medge Consulting, said in a statement.
“The Nordic region has a strong connection and history with the Premier League and we are keen to maintain this close association going into the future.”
Liljestrand, a former Canal Plus executive, founded Medge in 2007 along with television sports veteran Timothy Smart.
According to the Svenska Dagblaget (SvD) newspaper, Medge paid roughly €100 million ($144 million) to land the exclusive rights for live Premier League broadcasts, as well as all repeats, highlights, news rights, mobile and internet rights for the Nordic region.
Liljestrand, however, refused to confirm the deal’s price tag.
“I’m not going to comment on any information about the price. But we have independent foreign capital to back the entire deal,” Liljestrand told the newspaper.
Medge is now set to begin negotiations for how the rights will be distributed across various broadcasters in the Nordic countries.
Liljestrand also indicated to SvD that Medge is interested in pursuing broadcast rights for matches from the top football leagues in Italy and Spain.
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