. After only two years from the launch, Viaplay intends to withdraw from the Polish market, but not only, because the platform will also leave the Baltic countries, Great Britain, USA and Canada.
“We will leave the following regions to focus on the Nordic market (multi-level) and the Netherlands (sports only)” – we read in a report published by Viaplay. We asked the Viaplay Group press office when exactly the platform intends to end its operations in Poland. We’ll update this article as soon as we get a response. It is worth noting, however, that the information about the withdrawal from the Polish market was included in the “Current activities” section, which may mean that it will happen sooner rather than later.
Viaplay withdraws from Poland. What next for the Premier League and Formula 1?
It is worth recalling that Viaplay broke into Poland with a hit, causing a lot of confusion on the market of rights to broadcast sports events. The Scandinavian streaming giant has quickly taken over a number of popular competitions in Poland, including the football Premier League and Formula 1.
Currently, the company’s portfolio includes, among others:
- football UEFA Europa League – until the end of the 2023/2024 season;
- football UEFA Conference League – until the end of the 2023/2024 season;
- football Premier League – from the 2022/2023 season to the 2027/2028 season;
- football Bundesliga – until the end of the 2028/2029 season;
- soccer 2. Bundesliga – until the end of the 2028/2029 season;
- 2023 Women’s World Cup;
- Copa America 2024;
- Formula 1 – from the 2023 season to the 2025 season;
- National Hockey League – NHL (until 2026);
- Major League Baseball – MLB (until 2026);
- KSW galas;
After withdrawing from the Polish market, the rights to broadcast these games will probably be sold to other entities. Viaplay Group is even forced to sell them due to the company’s difficult financial situation. Although in the second quarter of Viaplay’s revenue increased by 15%. to CZK 4.59 billion, at the same time the company recorded a net loss of CZK 5.89 billion, mainly due to write-offs.
When it comes to Premier League, it seems to be a natural candidate to obtain (or rather regain) these rights Canal+. This station broadcast the games for the last several years and only from the 2022/2023 season the rights to them were taken over by Viaplay.
In case of UEFA Europa League and UEFA Conference League seems to be the favourite Polsat. The station currently has the rights to broadcast the UEFA Champions League football (although only until the end of the 2023/2024 season).
When it comes to Bundesligabefore the appearance of Viaplay in Poland, the rights to broadcast football matches in Germany had a platform Eleven Sports. It is possible that the Bundesliga will return to it. It is worth recalling that Eleven Sports has had the rights to the German Football Cup since the beginning of 2022/2023. In a similar direction, it can also be quite popular in Poland Formula 1. Before Viaplay entered the Polish market, the most prestigious car races in the world were also broadcast by Eleven Sports.
In Poland, Viaplay is currently available in three packages. The most expensive (PLN 55/month) offers access to KSW, Premier League, Formula 1, Bundesliga, Europa League, European Confederation League and NHL. In the middle variant (PLN 40) we will no longer find KSW, Premier League and Formula 1. However, the cheapest package (PLN 15) does not include any sports content.
Why is Viaplay withdrawing from Poland? “Too Niche”
Marcin Boroszko, a consultant at Channel Factory Polska, a global technology company operating in the video field, commented on the decision to withdraw from the Polish market in an interview with Gazeta.pl.
The idea to stand out with the sports offer was good, but as you can see, it is too niche and insufficient for the Polish market. I think Viaplay’s decision is rational and in line with the ‘lose fast’ principle
– explains the expert.
According to Marcin Boroszko, a similar decision may now be made by other platforms, which will either decide to consolidate with other entities or open up additional sources of revenue, such as sharing advertising time.
The latter solution seems to be a matter of time, especially since the largest channel on Connected TV is YouTube, which is mainly based on advertising.
– explain
Source: Gazeta
Mabel is a talented author and journalist with a passion for all things technology. As an experienced writer for the 247 News Agency, she has established a reputation for her in-depth reporting and expert analysis on the latest developments in the tech industry.
