UPC launches sports channel

With the establishment of a new sports channel, there will be a fundamental change in the TV broadcasting of live sports in Switzerland. Mysports is the name of the new channel, which will be broadcast from the 2017/2018 season as a result of the award of media exploitation rights by the Swiss Ice Hockey Federation (SIHF) to UPC Switzerland. The channel will offer live sports entertainment with its own editorial teams from summer 2017. Thanks to a combined basic and premium model and partners for nationwide distribution, such as Quickline, Net+ or the city of Lausanne with Citycable and other communication networks, which together with UPC are members of the Suissedigital association, more than three million customers will thus have access to Swiss ice hockey. As a result of the rights award, UPC will become a license contract partner of the Swiss Ice Hockey Federation.

"We are delighted with UPC's commitment to our sport. On the one hand, we were convinced by UPC's distribution concept, and on the other hand by the planned implementation and coverage. Field hockey fans and Swiss ice hockey are the big winners of this new partnership," said Florian Kohler, CEO of the Swiss Ice Hockey Federation, in a statement.

Mysports combines basic and premium channels

"The channel will be seen in all regions of Switzerland and will be distributed in three languages. The mix of a basic channel, which is included in every offer, and several premium channels via additional subscriptions makes Mysports unique. The basic channel is part of every basic offer and can be received at no additional cost; this is very important to us," said Roger Feiner, Vice President Content Strategy at UPC. "We initially want to take ice hockey in Switzerland to the next level with Mysports; but in the future, we also see the channel as a platform for other sports that have not yet found their way onto television, or only with difficulty."

Mysports wants to score points with viewers with live ice hockey as well as with talks and researched background reports on athletes, tactics, technology or material. There will be novel game analyses and graphics as well as exciting camera angles and statistics. A new feature is that, in addition to all NLA matches and weekly NLB matches, matches of the Swiss men's and women's A national teams and even the U-20 national team will be offered live.

Mysports' basic channel will feature at least one live Swiss ice hockey league game a week, as well as analysis and studio discussions. With additional options or via on-demand, customers can get even more live entertainment in their living rooms in the form of subscriptions or individual downloads - receivable via TV, Internet and mobile.

Mysports will also be freely available to all UPC customers and its distribution partners via cell phone or tablet. At UPC, this will take place on the Internet via Horizon.tv and the Horizon Go app. Pricing for the additional options has not yet been determined, but "attractive retail prices in the market" are being targeted, according to the statement. "Our next steps now are to build up the channel and our own editorial teams in the three national languages, as well as planning the new studios in the language regions," Feiner said.

In view of the reallocation of rights, UPC has already concluded distribution agreements for Mysports with 14 members of the Suissedigital association and is thus taking a novel approach to the distribution of Mysports for Switzerland. This opens up a new and larger platform for Swiss sports than before. "After many years of dependency, we now have the opportunity in Switzerland to offer our customers our own sports program with Mysports. It's a chance to be active in the market ourselves and to help shape television around Swiss ice hockey," says a delighted Nicolas Perrenoud, CEO of the Quickline Group and board member of Suissedigital.