After 27 years, Norway has returned to the top division in the IIHF women's World Championships. The problem however, is that no one in Norway, including generations of women and girls who have waited for this moment, can watch the games.
Neither the Norwegian Ice Hockey Association, nor any Norwegian broadcaster acquired the broadcasting rights for the tournament, and the newly launched IIHF.tv is geoblocked in many nations, including Norway, making the new platform meaningless for millions of fans.
"We have received information that Norway is Geo-blocked because no one has purchased the rights to broadcast the championship in Norway," the Norwegian Ice Hockey Association wrote in a translated news release. "The rights were purchased by TSN Canada, and they have not been successful in selling the viewing rights in Norway to relevant stakeholders. They have therefore geo-blocked viewing/streaming as well.NIHF apologizes that the games are not available We believed until today that the games would be available for pay-per-view on IIHF.tv. We are aware that the IIHF is working on solutions but this is beyond our reach. Unfortunately."
Only one member of Norway's roster, Andra Dalen, was alive the last time Norway competed at the top division of the World Championships. It may take another lifetime before girls and women in Norway have the opportunity to see their women's hockey heroes compete at the highest level.
Currently, only illegal streaming pathways are available, or fans can follow scores on the IIHF website, but will not be able to watch Norway play.