NENT Group, a Netflix’s Rival, To Become Known as Viaplay Group

As part of a proposed rebrand, what used to be known as Nordic Entertainment Group (NENT) will now be rebranded as Viaplay Group.

This comes at a time when the popular Netflix’s rival is expanding to more than a dozen countries and adding several live stream broadcasts to its program. Currently, Viaplay has a presence in 11 countries and the group plans to be adding 16 more to the list before the end of 2023. Their target goal is to reach 12 million subscribers by the end of 2025.

According to the official spokesperson, Viaplay is the group’s most recognizable brand. As such, they decided to go forward with using the name as the one brand to represent them across all the markets they have a presence in.

Viaplay also happens to be the company’s biggest golden goose. The proposal also includes rebranding their radio and advertising sales business. If it comes to fruition, these will become known as Viaplay Group Radio and Viaplay Group Ad Sales, respectively.

Much in the same vein, in September 2021, NENT’s studio operations will adopt a new organizational structure and become known under the name of Viaplay Studios. NENT Group’s string of rebranding decisions also affects the company’s moniker on Nasdaq Stockholm – the share will now be known as VPLAY B (changed from NENT B).

In the past four years, this is the company’s second major rebrand. During 2018, NENT group was created as part of its split from Modern Times Group, a former parent company.

In a statement, Anders Jensen, president and CEO of NENT Group, stated the proposed rebrand represents who they are as a group – according to his vision, this would be a fast-growing entertainment company with an international presence.

Re-entering the market under the name of Viaplay Group will bring visibility, simplicity, and clarity, consequently making the group a more attractive choice for talents, investors, and partners alike. Finally, Jensen added that the streaming space can be quite competitive nowadays, so innovation is vital for the group and its platform to be successful.

Overall, NENT is known for Nordic noir crime series – with the expansion, the group is looking to rival bigger brands such as Disney+ and Netflix.

In Britain, the group has also secured long-term sporting events rights – this includes skating, handball, and ice hockey.

In the second part of 2022, when the Viaplay streaming service goes live in the UK, live sports broadcasts will be a part of its program.

Between 2024 and 2028, in the UK, NENT has obtained exclusive rights to the following:

• Ice Hockey World Championship
• Champions Hockey League
• International Ice Hockey Federation

Viewers will also be able to tune in and watch speed skating in the time period between 2023 and 2028. This includes the ISU World Figure Skating Championships from 2024 and onward.

Soon, you will be able to tune in to Viaplay to watch the ISU World Figure Skating Championships.

Between 2022 and 2030, the streaming service will also feature:

• The European Handball Federation’s European Championship
• Men’s and women’s European League
• Champions League

From 2022 to 2026, NENT has secured the rights to stream European Volleyball Confederation competitions, and the same goes for the World Athletics Continental Tour Gold series for the time period between 2023 and 2029.

In 2024, the World Athletics Indoor Tour is on the schedule, and the group has obtained rights to broadcast the International Ski Federation snowboard events, albeit non-exclusively.

For the future, NENT has a clear vision of developing a broad offering in the UK, finding a balance between premium original Nordic content and live sports.

The addition means that, in 2022, Viaplay will have a live sports offering in:

• UK
• Netherlands
• Poland
• The Nordic region
• The Baltics

As for the UK offering, new details will be revealed further down the line, including the launch date and pricing. With its current 4 million subscribers as of February, NENT is confident in its potential to reach 12 million Viaplay subscribers by the end of 2025.

Can the streaming platform convince the unconvinced and make the cut?

We shall see!