Hockey World Championships 2012 with MTV Oy and Canal+

In spring 2010, MTV Oy acquired the media rights to the hockey world championships for the 2012 to 2017 period that covers two home tournaments co-hosted with Sweden. And now the TV company has announced its plans for next year.

All games played in the tournament taking place in Helsinki, Finland, and Stockholm, Sweden, in May 2012 will be seen on CANAL+ , a channel administered by MTV Oy. CANAL+ subscribers will be able to enjoy more than double the amount of world championship ice hockey available in previous years and a wide range of other hockey offerings. Every game will be broadcast in HD exclusively on the CANAL+ HD channels. As well as the IIHF World Championship tournament, CANAL+ will also begin to broadcast the Euro Hockey Tour (EHT), Team Finland matches and junior and women's world championships in ice hockey in the fall.

In accordance with the list of sporting events of national interest, every Team Finland game, the semi-finals and medal games will be seen on MTV3 or other MTV MEDIA free-to-air channels.

MTV Oy CEO Pekka Karhuvaara says the IIHF world championships project is the company's biggest ever joint effort and will be visible throughout the company's operations during the year. "The world championships in ice hockey hold a special place in the hearts of Finnish people," Karhuvaara says. "It's a matter of honor for us to be able to broadcast the tournament to an unforeseen extent and quality. We'll really be playing to the max."

To provide this hockey package, MTV MEDIA will introduce new channel solutions for the tournament period. This will help make sure there will not be any major changes in the rest of the CANAL+ and free-to-air channel programming.