The agreement is valid from the upcoming season, 2026–2027, through 2030–2031.
The games will be broadcast on ESPN on the Disney platform. The agreement means that 160 regular-season games will be shown exclusively on the platform, of which at least 50 games will be broadcast at times adapted for Swedish viewers. In addition, 20 games from the first two rounds of the Stanley Cup playoffs will be broadcast.
Other matches will be shown on Viaplay, which announced this spring that the company had secured NHL rights through the 2030–2031 season.
The Stanley Cup Final will be shown on both Viaplay and Disney.
Stakes heavily
We have introduced a new broadcast time on Mondays this season, a kind of Swedish "prime time" on Mondays, says David Proper, senior vice president at the NHL, to TT.
He further says that the most important thing needed to satisfy this market is to show more matches, more star players and Swedish players in prime Swedish broadcast time.
Disney+ has invested heavily in sports. This year alone, the company has secured the rights to the Spanish La Liga and the Champions League.
According to Disney+, the NHL investment is included in existing subscriptions.
We have put together a schedule for the first month so that we can inform you about how we will cover the NHL and what format will apply to the matches during the first month on Disney+, says Hans van Rijn, Nordic head of Disney.
Blind commentators
He does not yet want to talk about which commentators and experts will work on the broadcasts.
It will be coverage of the quality you would expect from ESPN. We are investing heavily in how we will cover the league and that includes who will be responsible for the coverage.
The regular season starts on September 29.
