Norwegian commercial and pay-television broadcaster TV2 has acquired rights for the 2015 and 2017 men’s and women’s Handball World Championships.
The deal was agreed with the Pitch International agency, which struck an agreement in May with beIN Media Group to distribute the rights.
The men’s tournament will take place in Qatar in 2015 and France in 2017 while the women’s event will take place in Denmark next year and then Germany in 2017.
TV2 director of sports Bjørn Taalesen expressed “frustration” over the negotiations and said that he had spent more “time and effort” over reaching the deal than before.
“The entire process felt a bit painful and we have been left with a feeling with international handball that is not great, which is something that has not happened before,” Taalesen told the Kampanje news website. “The expectations on the prices came from another world – an Arab world without spreadsheets. I am not sure whether in Qatar the words ‘business case’ are known, but the rest of us must certainly still relate to it.”
He added: “It is still expensive and more expensive than ever. There was a significant increase, but we were nowhere near the amount they thought at the outset. We had to talk to them for eight months before we agreed.”