Viasat Sport 1
Encyclopedia
Viasat Sport is a group of sports channel
s broadcasting from the United Kingdom
. The channels are targeting the Scandinavia
n and Baltic countries
, though the primary market of the channels is Sweden
. This article concentrates on Viasat Sport channels in Sweden.
The channel was launched in 1999 as a pan-Scandinavian channel. It was launched to make use of the many sports rights in the MTG portfolio that weren't shown on TV3 and therefore were unused.
In January 2002, Viasat Sport Denmark (later replaced by TV 2 Sport
) was launched and the original version would now target Sweden and Norway. This continued until SportN for Norway launched in 2005. When Viasat launched to new sports channels in 2004, Viasat Sport 2
and Viasat Sport 3
, the first channel got the name "Viasat Sport 1".
In March 2008, Viasat received a licence to broadcast Viasat Sport 1 in the terrestrial network. As of August 2009, the terrestrial broadcasts were yet to begin since the infrastructure to broadcast the new channels hadn't been put in place.
On October 17, 2008, Viasat relaunched their sports channels in Sweden, Norway and Finland. This mean't that Viasat Sport 1 reverted back to its old name Viasat Sport. Most soccer-related programmes were moved to Viasat Fotboll
. Contact sports programmes that were formerly on Viasat Sport 3 was moved to Viasat Sport.
The launch of Viasat Hockey
on September 1, 2009, meant that most hockey broadcasts were moved to a separate channel, including the Ice Hockey World Championships
, HockeyAllsvenskan, the NHL and KHL. Sports remaining on Viasat Sport are tennis
, basketball
, American football
and contact sports.
Viasat acquired the rights of football's English Premier League in April 2010 and announced, that they will create a new channel for the league. It launched on August 13, 2010 and it's called Viasat Premier League HD.
On September 7, 2010, MTG are launching the new free-to-air sports channel TV10
. It will take over much the sports previously broadcast on Viasat Sport, TV6 and TV8. Viasat Sport will remain, but will become an overflow channel for the other sports channels.
broadcasting events from standard definition Viasat Sport channels in high definition
and Dolby Digital
5.1 Surround sound. The channel is primarily targeting Sweden and Norway.
. De facto, the channel still exists today, but with different programming and the name Viasat Fotboll, which has been the channel's on-the-air name since October 2008.
The channel was launched after a series of hired football experts, like Glenn Strömberg
, Ola Wenström and Ola Andersson. The head of Viasat Sport channels, Per Tellander explained, that a pay channel was necessary to finance those hirings. The launch brought mixed reactions on the various forums on the Internet. Some felt that an effort was necessary, while others were annoyed at the fact, that the Champions League
was moved from a free-to-air channel TV6 and existing customers had a large increase in subscription prices.
Shortly after the launch, the channel began to show a program called Avspark (literally translated to Kick-off) with Ola Wenström and Bosse Pettersson. The program showed highlights from Allsvenskan
mixed with interviews of current Allsvenskan personalities in the studio. The program was on-the-air only for a year between late October 2008 and early November 2009, then the channel heads decided not to continue the program for the next season.
The channel broadcasts only in Sweden and Norway with localised versions for both countries, even though the former Viasat Sport 2 was broadcast also in Denmark and Finland, where the channel has got no replacements by 2010.
The channel also launched a major investment in MotoGP, which includes live broadcasts of all three classes (125, Moto2 and MotoGP). Other broadcasts include the Swedish Touring Car Championship, NASCAR and F1 Powerboat.
The channel's broadcasts are focusing on NHL, KHL, HockeyAllsvenskan and the Ice Hockey World Championships and it broadcasts over 300 games per season from these leagues. The channel was announced to the public on May 7, 2009 during the year's Hockey World Championships.
Although Viasat Hockey shows the NHL in Sweden, it doesn't have exclusive rights. ESPN America, which is carried by the competing operator Canal Digital
, shows NHL games with English audio, while Viasat shows the games in Swedish.
The channel has arose some controversy, when viewers were upset of being forced to buy the channel, because some of them (Lübker Golf Resort) thought, they already paid for golf broadcasts, when buying the Viasat Sport package.
Sports channel
Sports channels are television specialty channels broadcast sporting events, usually live, and when not broadcasting events, sports news and other related programming....
s broadcasting from the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. The channels are targeting the Scandinavia
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...
n and Baltic countries
Baltic countries
The term Baltic states refers to the Baltic territories which gained independence from the Russian Empire in the wake of World War I: primarily the contiguous trio of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania ; Finland also fell within the scope of the term after initially gaining independence in the 1920s.The...
, though the primary market of the channels is Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
. This article concentrates on Viasat Sport channels in Sweden.
History
In January 2002, Viasat Sport Denmark (later replaced by TV 2 Sport
TV 2 Sport (Denmark)
TV 2 Sport is a Danish sports channel operated as a joint-venture between Danish TV 2 and Swedish Modern Times Group.MTG launched a dedicated Danish version of its Viasat Sport channel in January 2002...
) was launched and the original version would now target Sweden and Norway. This continued until SportN for Norway launched in 2005. When Viasat launched to new sports channels in 2004, Viasat Sport 2
Viasat Sport 2
Viasat Sport 2 was a Scandinavian soccer channel. The channel started February 1, 2004 together with Viasat Sport 3. Viasat Sport 2 has the rights to Manchester United TV and Chelsea TV...
and Viasat Sport 3
Viasat Sport 3
Viasat Sport 3 was a Scandinavian sports channel mainly showing combat sports, auto racing and American football. The channel started on 1 February 2004 together with Viasat Sport 2 The main sports in the summer are NASCAR, Indy Racing League, Boxing, Football club TV.Viasat Sport 3 also have the...
, the first channel got the name "Viasat Sport 1".
In March 2008, Viasat received a licence to broadcast Viasat Sport 1 in the terrestrial network. As of August 2009, the terrestrial broadcasts were yet to begin since the infrastructure to broadcast the new channels hadn't been put in place.
On October 17, 2008, Viasat relaunched their sports channels in Sweden, Norway and Finland. This mean't that Viasat Sport 1 reverted back to its old name Viasat Sport. Most soccer-related programmes were moved to Viasat Fotboll
Viasat Fotboll
Viasat Fotboll is a Swedish television channel dedicated to football.The channel was launched on October 17, 2008, and became the primary home to most of Viasat's football broadcasts, which at the time included UEFA Champions League, 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification, the FA Cup, Football League...
. Contact sports programmes that were formerly on Viasat Sport 3 was moved to Viasat Sport.
The launch of Viasat Hockey
Viasat Hockey
Viasat Hockey is a sports channel that is broadcasting from the United Kingdom, primarily targeting Sweden but also available in Finland and Norway . Broadcasting was commenced on September 1, 2009, at the start of the 2009 ice hockey season...
on September 1, 2009, meant that most hockey broadcasts were moved to a separate channel, including the Ice Hockey World Championships
Ice Hockey World Championships
The Ice Hockey World Championships are an annual ice hockey tournament organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation . First officially held at the 1920 Summer Olympics, it is the sport's highest profile annual international tournament. The IIHF was created in 1908 while the European...
, HockeyAllsvenskan, the NHL and KHL. Sports remaining on Viasat Sport are tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
, basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
, American football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
and contact sports.
Viasat acquired the rights of football's English Premier League in April 2010 and announced, that they will create a new channel for the league. It launched on August 13, 2010 and it's called Viasat Premier League HD.
On September 7, 2010, MTG are launching the new free-to-air sports channel TV10
TV10 (Sweden)
TV10 is a television channel owned by Modern Times Group broadcasting to Sweden. It specializes in sports and documentaries. The channel started broadcasting on 7 September 2010....
. It will take over much the sports previously broadcast on Viasat Sport, TV6 and TV8. Viasat Sport will remain, but will become an overflow channel for the other sports channels.
Viasat Sport HD
Viasat Sport HD is a sports channelSports channel
Sports channels are television specialty channels broadcast sporting events, usually live, and when not broadcasting events, sports news and other related programming....
broadcasting events from standard definition Viasat Sport channels in high definition
High-definition television
High-definition television is video that has resolution substantially higher than that of traditional television systems . HDTV has one or two million pixels per frame, roughly five times that of SD...
and Dolby Digital
Dolby Digital
Dolby Digital is the name for audio compression technologies developed by Dolby Laboratories. It was originally called Dolby Stereo Digital until 1994. Except for Dolby TrueHD, the audio compression is lossy. The first use of Dolby Digital was to provide digital sound in cinemas from 35mm film prints...
5.1 Surround sound. The channel is primarily targeting Sweden and Norway.
Viasat Premier League HD
Viasat Premier League HD is a high definition channel, that broadcasts only Premier League football in high definition. It broadcasts Premier League-related magazines, studio programs, live, delayed and classic matches every day around the clock in English and Swedish. The channel was created, when Viasat acquired the Premier League rights in Sweden, other Scandinavian countries and the Baltics in spring 2010. It was also planned to start broadcasts in Norway and Denmark, but Viasat resold the rights to both countries TV2 channels, which created their own versions of Premier League HD (which are actually kept on the air by Viasat).Viasat Fotboll
Viasat Fotboll is a channel broadcasting only football. The origins of the channel are as far away as the year 2004, when Viasat launched Northern Europe's first football channel, Viasat Sport 2Viasat Sport 2
Viasat Sport 2 was a Scandinavian soccer channel. The channel started February 1, 2004 together with Viasat Sport 3. Viasat Sport 2 has the rights to Manchester United TV and Chelsea TV...
. De facto, the channel still exists today, but with different programming and the name Viasat Fotboll, which has been the channel's on-the-air name since October 2008.
The channel was launched after a series of hired football experts, like Glenn Strömberg
Glenn Strömberg
Glenn Peter Strömberg is a Swedish former footballer. He won the 1982 UEFA Cup with IFK Göteborg. Apart from Göteborg, he has also played for Benfica and Atalanta. He was voted Swedish footballer of the year, winning Guldbollen 1985. For his majestic way of playing in the midfield he was nicknamed...
, Ola Wenström and Ola Andersson. The head of Viasat Sport channels, Per Tellander explained, that a pay channel was necessary to finance those hirings. The launch brought mixed reactions on the various forums on the Internet. Some felt that an effort was necessary, while others were annoyed at the fact, that the Champions League
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...
was moved from a free-to-air channel TV6 and existing customers had a large increase in subscription prices.
Shortly after the launch, the channel began to show a program called Avspark (literally translated to Kick-off) with Ola Wenström and Bosse Pettersson. The program showed highlights from Allsvenskan
Allsvenskan
Allsvenskan is a Swedish professional league for association football clubs. At the top of the Swedish football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with Superettan...
mixed with interviews of current Allsvenskan personalities in the studio. The program was on-the-air only for a year between late October 2008 and early November 2009, then the channel heads decided not to continue the program for the next season.
The channel broadcasts only in Sweden and Norway with localised versions for both countries, even though the former Viasat Sport 2 was broadcast also in Denmark and Finland, where the channel has got no replacements by 2010.
Viasat Motor
Viasat Motor broadcasts motorsports. The broadcasts include series, like MotoGP, STCC, WRC and Formula 1, which the channel has made heavy investments to. In most of the race weekends, experts Frida Nordstrand, Eje Elgh and Stefan Johansson are on track, supplemented by a studio in Stockholm led by Janne Blomqvist, who is also the commentator of the race along with Elgh. During other weekends, only Elgh is in the place. The channel has also ran a news magazine dedicated to motorsport (particularly F1) since 2009 together with Sportbladet.The channel also launched a major investment in MotoGP, which includes live broadcasts of all three classes (125, Moto2 and MotoGP). Other broadcasts include the Swedish Touring Car Championship, NASCAR and F1 Powerboat.
Viasat Hockey
Viasat Hockey is a channel dedicated to ice hockey broadcasts.The channel's broadcasts are focusing on NHL, KHL, HockeyAllsvenskan and the Ice Hockey World Championships and it broadcasts over 300 games per season from these leagues. The channel was announced to the public on May 7, 2009 during the year's Hockey World Championships.
Although Viasat Hockey shows the NHL in Sweden, it doesn't have exclusive rights. ESPN America, which is carried by the competing operator Canal Digital
Canal Digital
Canal Digital is a Scandinavian television distributor and internet service provider that was founded in March 1997 as a joint venture between the French pay-TV company Canal+ and the Norwegian telecommunications operator Telenor...
, shows NHL games with English audio, while Viasat shows the games in Swedish.
Viasat Golf
Viasat Golf's broadcasts consist exclusively of golf. It's rights include tours such as PGA and LPGA tours, Ryder Cup and the WGC. The Swedish broadcasts are mainly commentated by Göran Zachrisson.The channel has arose some controversy, when viewers were upset of being forced to buy the channel, because some of them (Lübker Golf Resort) thought, they already paid for golf broadcasts, when buying the Viasat Sport package.
Football
- UEFA Champions LeagueUEFA Champions LeagueThe UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...
- English Premier League
- English National Team
- English FA CupFA CupThe Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
- French Ligue 1Ligue 1Ligue 1 , is the French professional league for association football clubs. It is the country's primary football competition and serves as the top division of the French football league system. Ligue 1 is one of two divisions making up the Ligue de Football Professionnel, the other being Ligue 2....
- German National Team
- German FA Cup
- Swedish National Team
Ice hockey
- IIHF World Championships
- European Trophy
- Champions Hockey LeagueChampions Hockey LeagueThe Champions Hockey League was a short-lived ice hockey league which was launched in 2008 by the International Ice Hockey Federation and only played in the 2008–09 season. Its creation coincided with the IIHF's 100th anniversary and replaced the IIHF European Champions Cup, the former competition...
(if organised) - National Hockey LeagueNational Hockey LeagueThe National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
- Kontinental Hockey LeagueKontinental Hockey LeagueThe Kontinental Hockey League is an international professional ice hockey league in Eurasia founded in 2008. As of 2009, it is ranked as the strongest hockey league in Europe....
- HockeyAllsvenskan
- Norwegian Hockey LeagueGET-ligaenGET-ligaen is the premier Norwegian ice hockey league, organised by the Norwegian Ice Hockey Federation. The league was known as 1. divisjon until 1990, when it was reorganized and named Eliteserien . That name was held until 2004 when cable TV company UPC became main sponsor...
- Latvian Hockey LeagueLatvian Hockey LeagueThe Latvian Hockey League is a professional ice hockey league based in Latvia. It is also known in Latvian as Latvijas atklātais čempionāts hokejā ....
Motorsports
- Formula 1
- GP2GP2GP2 may refer to:* GP2 Series, an open-wheeler motor racing series** GP2 Asia Series, a similar series run in Asia* GP2 , a human gene* Grand Prix 2, a racing simulator game...
- GP3GP3GP3 may refer to:* GP3 Series, an open-wheeler motor racing series launched in 2010* Grand Prix 3, a racing simulator game...
- Formula BMWFormula BMWFormula BMW is a junior racing formula for single seater cars. It is positioned at the bottom of the motorsport career ladder alongside the longer established Formula Ford category...
- Porsche SupercupPorsche SupercupThe Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup is the international motor racing series supporting the FIA Formula One World Championship organized by Porsche AG....
- MotoGP
- Superbike
- NASCARNASCARThe National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing is a family-owned and -operated business venture that sanctions and governs multiple auto racing sports events. It was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1947–48. As of 2009, the CEO for the company is Brian France, grandson of the late Bill France Sr...
- STCC
- F1 Powerboat World Championship
- Red Bull Air Race
Golf
- PGA TourPGA TourThe PGA Tour is the organizer of the main men's professional golf tours in the United States and North America...
- LPGA Tour
- PGA European TourPGA European TourThe PGA European Tour is an organization which operates the three leading men's professional golf tours in Europe: the elite European Tour, the European Seniors Tour and the developmental Challenge Tour. Its headquarters are at Wentworth Club in Virginia Water, Surrey, England...
- Ryder CupRyder CupThe Ryder Cup is a biennial golf competition between teams from Europe and the United States. The competition is jointly administered by the PGA of America and the PGA European Tour, and is contested every two years, the venue alternating between courses in the United States and Europe...
- Major tournaments
- Major tournaments of women
- Challenge TourChallenge TourThe Challenge Tour is the second tier men's professional golf tour in Europe. It is operated by the PGA European Tour and as with on the main European Tour and the European Seniors Tour, some of the events are played outside of Europe...
- Champions TourChampions TourThe Champions Tour, a golf tour run by the PGA Tour, hosts a series of events annually in the United States and the United Kingdom for golfers 50 years of age and older. Many of the PGA Tour's most successful golfers have gone on to play on the Champions Tour.The Senior PGA Championship, founded in...
- Seniors TourEuropean Seniors TourThe European Seniors Tour is a professional tour for male golfers aged 50 and over run by the PGA European Tour.The Tour was founded in 1992. In 2008 it had a total prize fund of €7,729,284, so it is much further behind the U.S.-based Champions Tour in relative prize money than the main European...
- Sunshine TourSunshine TourThe Sunshine Tour is a men's professional golf tour based in Southern Africa. For much of its history it was known either as the South African Tour or the FNB Tour, but it rebranded itself in an attempt to broaden its appeal...
Other sports
- ATP World Tour of tennisTennisTennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
- Davis CupDavis CupThe Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is run by the International Tennis Federation and is contested between teams of players from competing countries in a knock-out format. The competition began in 1900 as a challenge between Britain and the United States. By...
of tennisTennisTennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all... - Euroleague of basketballBasketballBasketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
- Basketligan of basketballBasketballBasketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
- NFL of American footballAmerican footballAmerican football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
- K-1 Grand Prix of mixed martial artsMixed martial artsMixed Martial Arts is a full contact combat sport that allows the use of both striking and grappling techniques, both standing and on the ground, including boxing, wrestling, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, muay Thai, kickboxing, karate, judo and other styles. The roots of modern mixed martial arts can be...