Viaplay Group
| Company type | Public (AB) |
|---|---|
| Industry | Media and entertainment |
| Founded | March 2018 |
| Headquarters | Stockholm , Sweden |
Key people | Jørgen Madsen Lindemann (CEO) |
| Products | Viaplay streaming platform, advertising-supported television and radio channels, Viaplay Studios production entity |
| Website | www |
Viaplay Group AB, previously known as Nordic Entertainment Group AB (NENT Group), is a media and entertainment corporation based in Stockholm, Sweden. The company manages the streaming platform Viaplay, operates advertising-supported television and radio channels, and runs the production entity Viaplay Studios. Established in 2018 as a spin-off from MTG, Viaplay Group made its debut on the Stockholm Stock Exchange on 28 March 2019.
History
In March 2018, MTG executed a corporate division by separating its Nordic Entertainment, MTG Studios divisions, and Splay Networks into a distinct company. This move followed an unsuccessful acquisition attempt of these assets by the Danish telecom firm TDC A/S, which was later acquired by Macquarie Group. Anders Jensen, formerly MTG’s EVP and CEO of Nordic Entertainment, was initially appointed as CEO of NENT Group. On 5 June, leadership transitioned to Jørgen Madsen Lindemann as CEO of Viaplay Group.
NENT Group commenced independent operations on 1 July 2018 and subsequently listed on Nasdaq Stockholm in March 2019. At its May 2019 inception, the company secured an equity stake in Erik Feig's Picturestart studio, obtaining first-look rights for Nordic distribution of its productions.
On 5 May 2020, NENT Group combined its Pay-TV satellite service Viasat with Canal Digital to create Allente, a joint venture equally owned by NENT Group and Telenor. This consolidation expanded channel offerings, including V channels, through Allente’s platform. The merger was finalized on 13 April 2021.
In September 2021, NENT rebranded its production division as Viaplay Studios, dedicating content creation exclusively to the Viaplay streaming service.
The company adopted the name Viaplay Group in May 2022. In July that same year, it acquired the UK-based sports streaming and pay-TV provider Premier Sports for $36 million.
By July 2023, Canal+ Group of Vivendi took a minority stake of 12% in Viaplay Group. By January 2024, Canal+, together with PPF, increased their ownership to 29%, intending to raise SEK 4 billion ($391 million) to reduce debt by SEK 2 billion and restructure total liabilities estimated at SEK 14.6 billion.
In November 2023, just over a year after acquisition, Viaplay Group divested Premier Sports back to SSBL Limited.
Viaplay streaming platform in the Nordic region
Viaplay Group manages the subscription video-on-demand service (SVOD) Viaplay, originally launched as Viasat OnDemand in Sweden in 2007 and rebranded as Viaplay in 2011.
The group formerly operated Viafree, an advertising-supported streaming platform (AVOD) available across Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden. On 29 November 2021, NENT Group announced that Viafree would be integrated into Paramount Global's Pluto TV by 18 May 2022.
Viaplay expanded to Iceland on 1 April 2020, completing its presence across the Nordic countries. In Finland, Viaplay merged with Elisa’s Elisa Viihde Aitio service in June 2020 to create Elisa Viihde Viaplay.
International expansion of Viaplay
During its Capital Markets Day in November 2020, Viaplay Group revealed a five-year strategy aiming to enter ten additional international markets by 2023 (totaling fifteen) and reach a subscriber base of 10.5 million by 2025. These goals were later increased in 2021 to at least sixteen markets by 2023 and a target of twelve million subscribers by 2025.
On 11 February 2021, the company secured SEK 4.35 billion funding to fuel this growth plan, emphasizing new market entries including Poland and the United States alongside the Baltic states (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania).
Viaplay launched services in the Baltic region on 9 March 2021. Plans for a Netherlands launch were announced for early 2022 featuring exclusive rights to Formula One, Bundesliga football, and Professional Darts Corporation events; soon after securing English Premier League broadcasting rights there.
The Polish market debut occurred on 3 August 2021 with premium sports content and three original Polish productions: Polish Murderesses, Black Dog, and Freedom of the Swallow.
In September 2021, Viaplay confirmed intentions to operate in at least sixteen markets by the end of 2023 including the UK (second half of 2022), Canada, Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. The November 2022 Capital Markets Day update maintained US and Canada launches would proceed as planned while postponing direct-to-consumer launches in German-speaking countries due to global economic challenges.
In July 2022, Viaplay acquired UK-based Premier Sports (including FreeSports), rebranding it as Viaplay Sports network ahead of its UK launch on 1 November that year.
The US direct-to-consumer app was introduced on 22 February 2023 with an emphasis on premium European content. Canada followed suit on 7 March 2023, extending Viaplay’s direct consumer reach to thirteen markets worldwide.
Viaplay Select
Viaplay Group introduced Viaplay Select in 2022 as a branded content solution tailored for partner platforms. Within its first year, Viaplay Select extended its reach to more than 20 countries. This service is designed for markets where Viaplay’s direct-to-consumer streaming is not accessible, enabling partners to showcase a carefully curated assortment of Viaplay’s acclaimed series, movies, documentaries, and Nordic third-party productions within a dedicated Viaplay section on their platforms.
Advertising-supported television (Free-TV)
Viaplay Group manages advertising-supported channels throughout Scandinavia, typically organized with one main channel (TV3) accompanied by several secondary channels such as TV6 and TV3+. These free-to-air channels primarily generate income from advertising but remain encrypted and require decoding fees for access.
Scandinavian networks
| Channel category | Sweden | Norway | Denmark |
|---|---|---|---|
| Main general | TV3 | TV3 | TV3 |
| Secondary general | TV6 | TV3+ | TV3+ |
| Additional channels | TV8 TV10 |
TV6 | TV3 Puls TV3 Max TV3 Sport See |
Viaplay TV (+) in the Netherlands
On 2 April 2024, Viaplay Group entered a partnership with Talpa Network to rebrand the SBS9 channel as Viaplay TV, effective from 5 April 2024. This channel supports the Viaplay streaming platform by airing selected sports events including Formula One, PDC darts, and Premier League football. Prior to the 2025 Formula One season, on 14 March 2025, the channel was divided into two entities: Viaplay TV transitioned into a cable sports channel, while SBS9 reverted to its original format. Simultaneously, Viaplay introduced a premium sports offering named Viaplay TV+, initially accessible via ODIDO and DELTA.
Television services
On 5 May 2020, the consolidation of Canal Digital and Viasat Consumer resulted in the formation of Allente, a satellite platform servicing Scandinavia under the Viasat brand. This platform offers a mix of proprietary and third-party channels. Nordic Entertainment Group holds a 50% ownership in Allente, distributing its suite of pay-TV channels such as V sport, V series, and V film throughout the Nordic region.
The availability of sports channels differs by country due to varying rights agreements.
Channels by country:
| Sweden | Denmark | Norway | Finland |
|---|---|---|---|
| V film premiere | V film premiere | V film premiere | V film premiere |
| V film action | V film action | V film action | V film action |
| V film hits | V film hits | V film hits | V film hits |
| V film family (SD) | V film family (SD) | V film family (SD) | V film family (SD) |
| V series | V series | V series | V sport+ Suomi |
| V sport extra | V sport golf | V sport + | V sport 1 Suomi |
| V sport premium | V sport ultra HD | V sport 1 | V sport 2 Suomi |
| V sport football | V sport live (SD) | V sport 2 | V sport premium |
| V sport vinter | V sport 3 | V sport 1 | |
| V sport motor | V sport golf | V sport football | |
| V sport 1 | V sport ultra HD | V sport vinter | |
| V sport golf | V sport live (SD) | V sport golf | |
| V sport ultra HD | V sport Premier League | V sport ultra HD | |
| V sport live (SD) | V sport Premier League 1 | V sport live (SD) |
Radio
Viaplay Group operates an array of radio stations and networks across Sweden and Norway, including:
| Rix FM, a nationwide Swedish network broadcasting on FM and DAB+ | P6 Rock, a national Norwegian network available on DAB+ |
| Star FM, a Swedish national network accessible via FM and DAB+ | P7 Klem, a nationwide Norwegian channel on DAB+ |
| Bandit Rock, serving Stockholm and Uppsala areas | P8 Pop, a national Norwegian station broadcasting on DAB+ |
| Lugna Favoriter, broadcasting in Stockholm on FM and DAB+ | P9 Retro, a Norway-wide network accessible through DAB+ |
| Power Hit Radio, available in Stockholm via DAB+ | P10 Country, a national Norwegian DAB+ station |
| I Like Radio, a streaming platform based in Sweden | P11 Bandit, Norway’s internet-based national network |
| P4 Radio Hele Norge, a nationwide Norwegian broadcaster on DAB+ | P12 Hitmix, a Norwegian national station on DAB+ |
| P5 Hits, a national network in Norway broadcasting on DAB+ |
Viaplay Studios
Viaplay Studios—previously known as MTG Studios and NENT Studios—is the television production branch of Viaplay Group headquartered in Sweden.
History
In December 2007, Modern Times Group divested Sonet Film, an independent production and distribution company, selling it to the Swedish film enterprise Svensk Filmindustri.
The year 2008 saw private equity firm CapMan establish a Nordic production entity for TV, film, and commercials by combining Finnish Varesvuo Partners (inclusive of Moskito Television) with Norway’s Monster Media AS to form The New Black OY. Following this, in 2009 CapMan expanded by acquiring the Swedish producer Baluba and consolidating Moskito Television, Monster Media, and Danish company Gong into Northern Alliance Group.
Northern Alliance further extended its footprint in Sweden by purchasing Nice Scripted Entertainment in May 2011. Subsequently, in June 2011 it acquired Titan Television along with its Norwegian unit Limelight Film & TV. The group underwent rebranding in October 2011 to become Nice Entertainment Group (Nice), adopting the name from its Swedish division.
In June 2012, Nice broadened its scope by acquiring Playroom AS, a Norwegian firm specializing in event management and branded entertainment. Concurrently, Modern Studios was renamed MTG Studios and secured majority ownership of Paprika Latino, a Central and Eastern European production group.
September 2012 marked the relaunch of Limelight Film & TV as Rakett Television under the leadership of former Rubicon TV executive Andreas Hjerto.
During 2013, MTG Studios purchased British distributor Digital Rights Group (DRG) alongside majority shares in Norwegian producer Novemberfilm. Later that year, MTG acquired Helsinki-based Nice Entertainment Group from CapMan for $114 million. This acquisition integrated entities such as Strix, Monster, and Rakett into MTG Studios while maintaining Morten Aass as CEO of Nice.
In 2014, Nice consolidated Danish producers Strix Television Denmark and Gong into Strong Productions.
On 29 January 2020, NENT Studios announced intentions to divest its unscripted labels to concentrate exclusively on scripted content. Although progress was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic, rebranding efforts resumed with DRG becoming NENT Studios UK in April 2020.
By June 2021, NENT Studios divested its UK distribution arm—NENT Studios UK—to All3Media, which subsequently incorporated it into All3Media International. The next month Fremantle agreed to acquire NENT’s unscripted production units; this transaction was finalized in September 2021.
On 16 September 2021, NENT Studios was rebranded as Viaplay Studios and reorganized to focus on creating original content for Viaplay’s subscription video-on-demand platform. This restructuring merged Brain Academy with Nice Drama to establish Viaplay Studios Sweden; meanwhile, NENT Studios Animation transitioned to Viaplay Studios Animation.
As of September 2021, Viaplay Studios consists of:
- Viaplay Studios Sweden (formed from Brain Academy and Nice Drama merger)
- Splay One (operating across Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden)
- Strix Television (covering Netherlands and Belgium)
- EPIQ (Denmark)
- Paprika Studios (serving Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania)
- Viaplay Studios Animation
External links
- Articles with short description
- Viaplay Group
- Swedish mass media companies
- Television networks operating in Sweden
- Mass media firms founded in 2018
- Danish television
- Swedish television
- Norwegian television
- Companies founded in Sweden in 2018
- Nasdaq Stockholm-listed companies
- Stockholm-based companies
- Canal+ S.A.
- Corporate spin-offs