Free-to-air TV channel SPORT1 will provide exclusive live coverage of the Champions Hockey League in Germany from when the season starts on 21 August 2014. In addition, live streams of selected games will be available in Germany and Austria exclusively on LAOLA1.tv, Europe’s largest online streaming platform.
Press Release
MUNICH - The Champions Hockey League has new broadcast agreements in place for Germany and Austria with free-to-air television channel SPORT1 and online streaming platform LAOLA1.tv.
This is the seventh major media rights agreement for the Champions Hockey League after Finland (MTV), Sweden (SVT), Slovakia & Czech Republic (SlovakSport.TV), Switzerland (Teleclub), Great Britain (Premier Sports) and United States (ONE World Sports).
The agreement with SPORT1 provides exclusive media rights for an initial period of one year. During the group stage, the station will exclusively broadcast selected live games involving German clubs. After the group stage, SPORT1 will broadcast one live game per round – regardless of whether German clubs are involved or not – including the final on 3 February 2015. The agreement allows a total of 13 live broadcasts of Champions Hockey League games. The first game to be broadcast live will be Eisbären Berlin against PSG Zlín on 22 August at 19:30.
In addition, there is also an agreement on the use of media rights in Germany and Austria with LAOLA1.tv, the international online sports TV platform. LAOLA1.tv will show more than 70 Champions Hockey League games as live streams on the internet and for mobile devices (iOS and Android). The agreement covers live broadcasts of 54 games of the group phase involving clubs from the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL) and the Austrian Erste Bank Eishockey Liga (EBEL). In the group stage, LAOLA1.tv will show five games involving German clubs per round and all games involving Austrian clubs in addition to other games involving top international clubs and 10 games from the playoffs. As well as the live broadcasts, LAOLA1.tv will make the entire games and highlights available as videos on demand in the LAOLA1 video centre.
The deals were announced by the sportsman media group, which is responsible for the media rights to the Champions Hockey League in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
Lutz Tigges, director of media rights at the sportsman media group: We are very pleased to have now sold the Champions Hockey League in the major markets of Germany and Austria. We now have two excellent partners at our side, SPORT1 and LAOLA1.tv, both of whom demonstrate a great deal of expertise when it comes to ice hockey."
Olaf Schröder, managing director of SPORT1: “European ice hockey has its own top-class tournament at last! And viewers can experience games live from the very first day of the league on free TV provided by SPORT1. The Champions Hockey League enables us to extend our portfolio of international ice hockey.”
Karl Wieseneder, managing director of LAOLA1 GmbH: “The Champions Hockey League represents another important addition to our outstanding ice hockey portfolio. We’re delighted that, in addition to the DEL and Erste Bank Eishockey Liga, we can now offer fans superb hockey from the top European league.”
Martin Baumann, CEO of Champions Hockey League: “Germany and Austria are two key markets for the Champions Hockey League as we have a total of 10 clubs from their national leagues playing in the CHL. So obviously we are very pleased with the media rights being sold in these countries. Germany and Austria are furthermore two central European countries which, all observers agree, have the biggest potential to grow our game.”