In a sign of the growth of popularity of MMA in Sweden, Canal+ has purchased the rights of several premiere events, including live UFC events. Wimbledon, ATP and WTA tournaments in tennis, NBA basketball, Italian Serie A in HD, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), Major League Soccer and Copa America 2011 will all part of the purchase, that will help launch a series of new sports channels, including Canal Sport+.
Below is a translated quote from the press release:
It becomes even more football and hockey at CANAL + from this autumn and we are pleased to offer our viewers more matches from the Elite League and Championship, as well as lots of football from Spain’s La Liga. CANAL + Sport 1 is Sweden’s most powerful sports channel when we strengthen the offering and expanding its range further. In addition, we supplement by adding tennis, basketball and martial arts from the best tournaments and leagues to our selection, “says Jonas Eriksson, CEO of CANAL +.
From visiting their website, it looks like for 299 kronor –about $40– you can get this premium channel. I guess they will gain one new customer!
It came as a surprise to me that the UFC was no longer going to be shown on TV4 Sport a local non-premium channel. This is a standard channel that most homes have. It showed all UFC events –including The Ultimate Fighter and UFC Events Live (minus live Fight Nights on Spike).
Jag kommer att titta på UFC på TV i Sverige på Canal +!
