Norwegian commercial and pay-television broadcaster TV2 has signed a five-season deal to replace international media company Discovery Communications as the rights partner of the Norwegian Handball Federation.
The deal will run from the 2017-18 season through to the end of the 2021-22 campaign and sees the rights return to TV2 after Discovery secured them for a period of two seasons in 2015.
TV2’s contract grants it rights to all Norwegian club and national team handball, excluding games in the European Championships, World Championships and summer Olympic Games.
The TV2 Sportskanalen channel will broadcast a weekly live game, while showpiece club games and national team matches will be televised by TV2’s main channel. TV2 will also provide magazine programming to support its coverage.
Norwegian Handball Federation secretary general Erik Langerud said: “It is important for both clubs and national teams that there is continuity in the media coverage. The fight for space in the fragmented sports media (industry) is hard and challenging, and it is absolutely essential for handball’s position that we have a key role in the game. We feel that Norwegian handball is secured through the new agreement with TV2.”