"Negotiations with Viaplay are still ongoing. We are having a constructive dialogue and our goal is to reach an agreement by tomorrow at the latest when the current agreement expires," Telia's press officer Roija Rafii tells TT.
If the parties do not reach an agreement, both Viaplay's linear channels, including TV3, TV6 and the popular sports channels, and the streaming service risk being shut down for Telia customers.
The last time the companies argued over the agreements, in 2022, the conflict was drawn out and became acrimonious. For customers, it was a blackout for two and a half months before an agreement was finalized.
Don't want to speculate
Telia then had to try to compensate viewers with material from other streaming services, including HBO Max and Netflix.
How sure are you that you won't end up in the same position now?
It's not something I intend to speculate on. As I said, we are in the middle of a negotiation that is still ongoing and are engaged in a constructive dialogue.
If the channels disappear, Telia's customers will miss out on Premier League and Champions League football, as well as NHL ice hockey and the restart of the Ski World Cup after the Olympics. Later in March, the start of the Formula 1 season and Sweden's playoff for the World Cup awaits - broadcasting rights that Viaplay has.
“Not unusual”
"We have a good dialogue with Telia and it is not unusual for negotiations to continue until the very end. We value all our partnerships and collaborations and renegotiating contracts is a natural part of the deal," writes Viaplay's press manager Susanne Nylén in a text message to TT.
Streaming services like Viaplay sell their content partly directly to customers, but also to a large extent through a distributor, like Telia. The current stumbling block is said to be how much Telia should pay to show Viaplay's offering and which rights should be included in which packages.
Last year, Viaplay was involved in a similar conflict with distributor Tele2, but it was resolved before the screen went black.
