Viaplay finalises UK business sale & signs Talpa linear TV deal

Financially struggling Nordic outfit, Viaplay Group, has revealed it will complete the sale of its UK direct-to-consumer business to SSBL, trading as the Dublin-based Premier Sports, on April 4.

Source: Viaplay

The proposed transaction which Viaplay announced in December, has been cleared by the Irish authorities.

Premier Sports was the previous owner of the UK business, which comprises a streaming service and two linear TV channels.

Viaplay acquired Premier Sports’ UK operation in 2022 in a £30 million dedal, rebranding its channels and taking over sponsorship of the Scottish League Cup.  The channels hold the rights to Scottish national team football as well as the League Cup, and will also broadcast the Scottish Cup, where they share rights with BBC Scotland.

Current sports customer subscriptions will be automatically transferred to Premier Sports as part of the sale, with its sports content line-up remaining the same.

The sale marks as part of Viaplay’s move to withdraw from markets outside its core Nordic territories and the Netherlands in a cost-saving strategy  following financial troubles.

Premier Sports have said it will offer an enhanced streaming service alongside its broadcast channels, which will continue to be available on the Sky, Virgin media and Amazon Prime platforms.

Talpa Network Linear TV deal

Elsewhere, Viaplay have also struck a partnership with Dutch media company Talpa Network.

In the Netherlands, Talpa Network’s SBS9 linear TV channel will be rebranded as Viaplay TV, and will show selected content from the Viaplay streaming service’s portfolio of premium sports from April 5. Viaplay TV’s first live broadcast will be the second free practice session for the Japanese Grand Prix.

April’s schedule also includes live Premier League football, highlights from the Chinese Grand Prix and live PDC Premier League Darts taking place in Rotterdam.  In addition, Viaplay TV will feature Dutch and international series and films from Talpa Network’s entertainment offering. The channel is available to audiences across the Netherlands through all major TV distributors.

All Viaplay sports content shown on Viaplay TV will remain available in full on Viaplay, said the company. Viaplay is the home to sports such as Formula 1, Premier League football and PDC darts, alongside Bundesliga, EFL Championship and Carabao Cup football, Hoofdklasse field hockey, Enfusion kickboxing, among more.

Viaplay and Talpa will share the revenues from the partnership.

Peter Nørrelund, Viaplay Group EVP and chief sports & business development Officer, said : “Talpa Network is a well-established Dutch player with outstanding reach. This partnership will showcase Viaplay’s premium sports portfolio, which is the most attractive and relevant anywhere in the Netherlands, to a broad audience and open up new revenue opportunities. With the new Formula 1 season running at full speed, and a great year of sport ahead, the timing couldn’t be better for Dutch fans.”

Joost Brakel, CEO, Talpa Network, added: “We are fully committed to our open media strategy and this means that we constantly look in the market for opportunities to collaborate with attractive partners. The partnership with Viaplay Group is illustrative of this, just as we have previously entered into successful alliances with Retail