Commercial broadcaster TV2 and media companies Amedia and Schibsted have secured domestic rights to Norwegian soccer for the 2029-34 cycle.
The agreements cover the men’s top-flight Eliteserien and women’s top-tier Toppserien, as well as the men’s first, second, and third divisions, the women’s first division, and the national cup (for men and women).
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In total, the broadcasters will pay a combined fee of NOK820 million ($87.8 million) per year throughout the five-year contracts, which represents a record for domestic Norwegian soccer.
The current deals, for the 2023-2028 cycle, are worth an average of NOK750 million per season, previously a record when they were signed.
TV2 currently covers most top-tier soccer – men's and women's – in Norway. Public-service broadcaster NRK also holds Toppserien rights in the current cycle.
TV2 and Amedia will be the main rights-holders in the new rights cycle, with Schibsted holding Norwegian Football Federation (NFF) rights.
Olav Sandnes, CEO and editor-in-chief of TV 2, said: “TV 2 has great ambitions for Norwegian football. We believe Amedia will be able to give both the 1st division for women and the OBOS league a well-deserved boost, while TV 2 can further sharpen and strengthen its focus on the Toppserien and Eliteserien.
“Norwegian football is perhaps the most important community arena we have in Norway. It creates broad engagement, and in recent years, we have managed to build an ever-increasing interest. That is what motivates us, and we will be able to build interest in the future as well.”
“While interest on the men's side has been built up over more than a hundred years, women's football is at the beginning of its growth curve. It takes time to go from potential to lasting interest. We have the same will, expertise, and perseverance needed to lift women's football, both club and national team, in the years to come.”
The Eliteserien will continue to be shown by TV2, which has held rights to the league since 2023, but the men’s second-tier OBOS league will move to Amedia, as well as the Direktsport streaming platform.
TV2 took over Eliteserien rights from Discovery, which held exclusive rights to the top two men’s leagues, in a six-season contract, from 2017 to 2022.
TV2 currently shows the OBOS league but will pass on the rights for the remaining two years of the contract — 2027 and 2028 — to Amedia, ahead of the media group taking on full control from 2029 onwards.
Amedia will also have rights to the U-23 women's national team, the women’s first division, and the men’s second and third divisions.
In addition, Amedia and TV2 will share the rights to centrally arranged pre-season matches, while TV2 will also be given the right to show one OBOS league match per round.
From 2029, Schibsted will hold rights to the men’s and women’s national cups, age-specific international matches, and the men’s U21 national team. Until then, the cup will continue on TV 2.
TV2 already has the rights to show the Norwegian men's national team's matches in World Cup and European Championship qualifying and the UEFA Nations League until 2028.
NRK and TV 2 share the rights to the men's 2026 World Cup, the men's European Championship in 2028, and the women's World Cup in 2027. TV2 also has rights to the elite UEFA Champions League club competition until 2027.
The NFF launched a comprehensive media rights tender process in February. The governing body collaborated with a trio of other Norwegian soccer organizations – Norsk Toppfotball, Toppfotball Kvinner, and Norsk Ligafotball – around the tender, which was led by the Toppfotballutvalget (a body consisting of the chairs of those organizations, and the NFF president). This marked the first time the properties have collaborated in such a fashion.
Jens Haugland, chief executive of NTF, said: “This has been a good and constructive collaboration across the organisations in Norwegian football. We have had one common goal: to secure agreements that give Norwegian football the best possible development opportunities in the years to come.
“The sale is also a confirmation of the value development we have seen in our leagues. The stadiums are filled, the commitment around the clubs is growing, and the leagues are reaching more people – so far this year, the attendance growth is almost 10% in the Eliteserien.”
