Sky Sports News goes global

Sky Sports News HD is to launch on the Viasat platforms in the Nordic and Baltic regions. As part of the multi-year agreement with Viasat’s parent Modern Times Group a selection of support programming and features, such as Soccer AM and The F1 Show will be made available.

The channel will go live in Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland at the end of February, carried over satellite on the Viasat pay-TV platform as well as through its channel packages on third-party cable TV platforms and IPTV networks, including MTG’s online service Viaplay. MTG will also add Sky Sports News HD to its Baltic platforms later in the year.

Jørgen Madsen Lindemann, President and CEO of MTG, said: “This is fantastic news for sports fans who already enjoy our world-class and market leading offering of local and international sports coverage. Sports news is a global headline grabbing phenomenon, and Sky Sports is a strong brand that consistently delivers high quality content. It is great that our viewers will now have access in and out of their homes to even more of the very best sports entertainment.”

Rob Webster, Commercial Group Director, BSkyB, added: “The demand for high quality sports news has never been greater and we’re delighted to be working with MTG to bring the full Sky Sports News channel to an international audience for the first time.”

This agreement builds on Sky’s growing international channels business that already sees Sky News reach millions of viewers across Europe, North America, the Middle East, Africa and Asia. The syndication and distribution of channels internationally is a growing part of Sky’s business as the company seeks to leverage the quality of its brands and content by making programming available to new audiences.

Sky Sports News HD already syndicates selected programming to other international broadcasters such as SuperSport in Africa and Fox Soccer in the USA, but this is the first time that the entire Sky Sports News HD channel will be available on an international pay TV platform.