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Norwegians will have to pay up to 40 percent more to watch the Premier League on television in the fall.
In the future, it will be more expensive to continue Liverpool’s quest for another Premier League title. Laurence Griffiths, Reuters / NTB
On Monday night, it was announced that top-level English football will be significantly more expensive to watch on Norwegian screens. Canal Digital has notified its customers that the TV channel package 2, which includes the Premier League and the Champions League, will increase the price from 499 to 699 kroner per month from 1 November.
RiksTV, Telia and the rest of the market are expected to follow. TV 2 confirms that its suggested retail price for channel distributors will increase by NOK 200.
The increase has been met with harsh criticism on social media. And in the fan community, there is little understanding of what TV 2 is up to right now.
– This increase seems very difficult. How often does a product self-adjust by 40 percent? This does not happen often. This came very abruptly and unexpectedly to our members. Many people think that it is expensive and expensive. Several say they want to unsubscribe, says general manager Tore Hansen of the Norwegian fan club Liverpool.
TV 2 will generate more revenue in the Premier League and the Champions League. Here are Brede Hangeland, Jon Børrestad, Erik Thorstvedt and Manchester United legend Ryan Giggs in the studio. Jan-Petter Dahl, TV 2
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Over the threshold of pain?
So far it is only clear how much it will cost to watch the Premier League on regular linear TV in the future. At the end of the month, the price increase for TV 2’s streaming service Sumo will be announced.
– Now we can be so close to a weak point, that people do not buy these subscriptions. Some will experience that that boundary has already been crossed, says general manager Bernt Hjørnevik at Manchester United’s fan club in Norway.
Like Hansen, he is surprised that TV 2 “shocks” his viewers. Last fall, the channel launched a new three-year term as a Norwegian licensee of the Norwegian League. At that time, the surcharge was SEK 50 per month.
TV 2 justifies its latest move with the fact that rights costs have risen significantly. A year ago, they deliberately chose to hold back.
– I do not buy the argument that last year they shit a little and put everything on now. In that case, TV 2 could have done it differently last year. Now it appears that they are reducing it, says Hjørnevik.
He points out that the channel is in its last two years as a mediator for English football. Starting in the fall of 2022, TV 3 and Viasport owner Nent Group will take over the rights.
Bernt Hjørnevik (left) is the Managing Director of Manchester United’s Norwegian fan club. He believes the new Premier League awards for more will be above the pain threshold. Here he is with Ronny Deila and former United defender Ronny Johnsen. Terje Pedersen, NTB
Norwegian passion is to blame
TV 2 press manager Jan-Petter Dahl says the following about frustration at the high price level:
– We have a great understanding that there is a lot of money and that people react.
– The reason these rights are so expensive is the huge interest in English football in Norway. There you can see the difference with our neighboring countries, where it is cheaper to watch the Premier League. Norway is presumably the country in the world with the greatest interest in English football outside of Balløya. This is reflected in the cost of the rights.
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In Sweden, you can get a TV package with the Premier League for a monthly price of less than 350 crowns.
– Rights is a game where the different media praise each other, while the Premier League sits on the other side and rubs their hands to get the most out of it. Ultimately, we must pay for that, Hjørnevik notes.
He thinks TV 2 is betting that the slightly older generation in particular will carry on.
– Probably the group that has the finances to be able to have a subscription of almost 9000 crowns a year. TV 2 probably expects a lot of noise, but it will linger when it comes to the play. The new generation is much more willing to look for alternatives.
Norwegian interest in English football helps explain why TV 2 has a much harder time broadcasting Ole Gunnar Solskjær and his Manchester United than it does to the rest of the Nordic countries. Marko Djurica, Reuters / NTB
Pirate threat
Harry Arne Solberg is a professor at NTNU Business School and his field of research is the economics of sport. He is excited to see the consequences of the recent price increase.
– This will be an experiment for TV 2. Now you can test how loyal customers are, but you can get one in the forest. Pirate streaming is a threat, and they can lose multiple subscriptions as a result, Solberg says.
In the Norwegian fan community, there are clear indications that young people have already discovered alternative ways of watching matches.
– Such a steep price increase won’t exactly dampen people’s curiosity. We are often asked if we know of illegal ways to watch the Premier League, but we distance ourselves from this. Those who want it will find it, says United supporter Bernt Hjørnevik.
TV 2 is fully aware of the challenges that illegal streaming poses.
– It is always a concern, but we hope and believe that viewers will not resort to these kinds of solutions when the price goes up, says press director Dahl.
Solberg wonders if TV 2 has a strategy to attract more linear TV customers today to its own online service. Dahl rejects it.
– No, we want to be available on all platforms. We will come out with our updated Sumo prices before the month change.
This is one of the reactions on Twitter about the new Premier League awards:
