Viasat wins rights to World Rally Championship

10 December 2009 | Posted in Broadcast, Motorsport | By Adam Fraser

The FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) will be screened in Sweden, Norway and Denmark for the next three years after global promoter ISC secured an agreement.

WRC programmes will be broadcast on Viasat Motor in Sweden and Norway and on TV2 Sport for Denmark. The season starts with the Swedish Rally on February 12th to the 14th and ends with the Rally of Great Britain in November.

"The World Rally Championship is epic motorsport with adrenalin-fuelled driving on everything from gravel to snow and ice," said Stian Kleppo, the head of Viasat Sport Norway. "It's a perfect addition to the already strong motorsport rights we have. With WRC, Formula One, MotoGP, Nascar and Indy Racing, we are not only offering Sweden's/Norway's only dedicated motorsport channel but are also offering the best motorsport content there is."

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Simon Long, ISC's chief executive, added: "As the World Rally Championship enters an exciting new era it is great news that the championship will reach millions of TV viewers in Sweden, Norway and Denmark with Viasat Broadcasting. WRC has a huge following across Scandinavia, home to some of the world's greatest drivers and iconic stages.

"Coming on the back of the exciting announcement that Finnish Kimi Räikkönen will compete in the 2010 Championship, it is fantastic that Scandinavian fans will have access to quality coverage of the whole season at a time when one of their region's heroes take to the stage to compete at the pinnacle of rallying."