Swedish streaming service Viaplay has completed the acquisition of Premier Sports in the UK in a £30m deal ahead of the start of the new football season.
The move gives the broadcaster rights to key competitions including La Liga, UEFA national team football, the Coppa Italia, Scottish Cup, Scottish League Cup and NASCAR.
Viaplay previously announced plans to launch in the UK later this year, offering a lineup of sports and Scandinavian entertainment shows, but the purchase of Premier Sports will accelerate the move.
Premier's portfolio of channels - Premier Sports 1, Premier Sports 2 and FreeSports - will "receive Viaplay branding" and over time the content lineup will be broadened to include the broadcaster's other shows and films.
Viaplay CEO Anders Jensen said: "This acquisition will put Viaplay firmly on the UK map and accelerate our development in this key market.
"Premier Sports has a loyal and expanding subscriber base, well-established distribution agreements and production capabilities, and a great sports portfolio that complements our own.
"There is also a big opportunity to make Viaplay's wider offering, including our award-winning Viaplay Originals, available to Premier Sports' subscribers.
"We have secured this growing and profitable business at an attractive valuation. This is a fast and effective route to building an even stronger position for Viaplay in the UK."
As part of the announcement Viaplay revealed that Premier currently has around 222,000 subscribers for its paid channels, which have distribution on Sky, Virgin Media and Amazon.
Premier Sports chief exec Richard Sweeney said: "At Premier Sports, we're proud to have created a dynamic, innovative sports streamer and broadcaster over the past 13 years.
"From modest beginnings, and through the hard work and dedication of our people, we have continually grown the company, and today we have an extensive portfolio of must-see live sports that entertain loyal customers across the UK.
"Our sale to Viaplay Group will dramatically increase the content available to new and existing subscribers. This is the start of an exciting new chapter in the development of the business, and is great news for our colleagues, customers and partners."
When Viaplay officially launches later this year, subscribers will be offered a choice of two packages - a Films & Series package of top Nordic shows, and the Total package including Premier's sports lineup.
Neil Wilkes
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