Viasat Hockey launches in Baltics

Modern Times Group-owned pay-TV operator Viasat has launched a dedicated ice hockey channel for the Baltic region.

Viasat Hockey has the broadcasting rights for Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania to the National Hockey League (NHL) and exclusive rights to the KHL international ice hockey league, including Dinamo Riga’s matches, and the IIHF World Championship. The channel is available to Viasat’s DTH subscribers in the Baltics and IPTV subscribers in Estonia and Lithuania.

Viasat Hockey is available in addition to Viasat Sport Baltic and Viasat Golf and will replace Viasat Sport East. The channel has been available in Sweden and Finland since last September.

The NHL rights are syndicated by sports media company ESPN, and include five exclusive NHL matches every week during the regular season between October and April, news and highlights from all NHL matches, and co-exclusive rights with ESPN America to all of the Stanley Cup Playoff games between April and June.