– Of course we are disappointed

The long tradition of NRK to send winter sports is largely interrupted from the season 2021/2022. It is then Nent Group who gets the upper hand. According to TV expert Morten Wiberg, this loss is crucial for NRK.

He writes both parties in a press release Thursday morning.

– Of course we are disappointed. These rights are important to us and we have made considerable efforts to guarantee them, "says NRK Sport Editor Egil Sundvor in a press release.

He says that NRK's ​​offer has unfortunately not been reached. According to NRK, the final amount was so high that it became impossible for the public channel.

The NENT group, which is behind Viasat, has earned the rights to the Alpine Skiing, Cross Country Skiing, Ski Jumping, Combined Snowboarding, Freestyle and Freestyle Skiing World Cups.

The agreement also includes the rights of the World Ski Championships (FIS World Ski Championships) in 2023 and 2025, which include the same branches as those they were awarded at the World Cup. The broadcasts will be broadcast on Viaplay and Viafree, Viasat's pay TV channels and NENT's free television channels.

– I think that means a lot for NRK – losing what is one of the pillars from November to March. They send a huge amount of sport. This can have very negative consequences for the channel, says Morten Wiberg, TV expert.

– This makes them less attractive as a state channel. They have been extremely dominant during the winter months and have a significant market share, says Morten Wiberg.

New level

Vegard Klubbenes Drogseth, CEO of NENT Group Norway, does not wish to specify the type of amount involved, but welcomes the agreement obtained.

– It means a lot to us. Winter sports are a very important part of our commitment to sport. Sport has always been part of our DNA, but we are now taking it to a whole new level, says Drogseth to VG and adds:

– Our ambitions are high. We want to do the best job possible to transmit winter sports.

NRK will be offensive

The FIS package, which is now sold, contains approximately 200 World Cup and World Cup races, and represents approximately 40% of NRK's ​​total winter offer during a winter season. The rights do not apply to the World Cups in Norway, Austria and Switzerland. The agreement also does not apply to biathlon and skating, writes NRK in the press release.

Obtaining rights to these branches is not on the agenda, says Drogseth.

– What we focus on is what we got the rights for.

Until 2021, the national channel will broadcast much as before.

– We would like to point out that there will remain winter sports at NRK in the coming years. Over the next two seasons, the portfolio is virtually unchanged. We still have big unifying events in the portfolio, said Sundvor.

Sundvor also promised that NRK would be offensive to find new areas of rights in the future.