Viaplay Group AB is in talks to buy Premier Sports Ltd., as the fast-growing Nordic streaming company seeks to gain more broadcasting rights ahead of its UK launch, people with knowledge of the matter said.Stockholm-listed Viaplay aims to reach an agreement as soon as this month, one of the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is private. Premier Sports operates in the UK, where it broadcasts live Scottish football, Spain’s La Liga, Rugby League and a host of other sports.The Premier Sports channel is available through the pay-television platforms of Virgin Media and Comcast Corp.’s Sky, as well as the company’s own streaming app.Shares of Viaplay have fallen about 51% in Stockholm trading this year, giving it a market value of 18.1 billion kronor ($1.7 billion). The company has said it will launch its streaming service in the UK in the second half of the year, with plans to offer a combination of live sports programming and original Nordic content.The company will be able to broadcast NHL ice hockey matches, snowboarding, beach volleyball and KSW mixed martial arts fights in the UK. In April, Viaplay said it secured the UK rights to show matches played by the Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish men’s national football teams in the runup to the FIFA World Cup and European competitions.The potential purchase “could jumpstart Viaplay’s sports credentials” in the UK and Ireland by adding popular fixtures, Tom Ward, a media and telecoms analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, wrote in a research note Wednesday. “A local foothold in pay-TV, still an in-demand way to watch sport, would also help to hedge against TV viewing’s shift online.”Viaplay’s entry into the UK will put it in competition for viewers with Sky’s own live sports channels, as well as BT Sport and free-to-air broadcasters such as Channel 4.Other suitors have also expressed interest in Premier Sports, the people said. Deliberations are ongoing, and there’s no certainty the discussions with Viaplay will lead to an agreement, the people said.A representative for Viaplay declined to comment, while officials at Premier Sports couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.
©2022 Bloomberg L.P.