By Supantha Mukherjee
STOCKHOLM (Reuters) -Swedish media group NENT said it saw subscribers to its streaming service Viaplay jump 33% in the fourth quarter to top 4 million as it expanded screening of Nordic noir crime dramas to more countries and broadcast sporting events.
Releasing its quarterly results on Tuesday, NENT also forecast paid users would reach 6.5 million this year.
The company has been spending heavily on producing original Nordic noir crime stories such as “The Bridge” and getting rights to sporting events as it expands to more countries while competing with bigger rivals Netflix and Disney+.
NENT, which launched its services in the United States in December through Comcast, plans to launch in the Netherlands and the UK in 2022.
“The first indications are positive, but it’s only through one distributor, Comcast, … the real uplift in the U.S. is probably when we add more distribution and our own direct-to-consumer app which will follow in due time,” Chief Executive Office Anders Jensen said in an interview.
Viaplay, which counts Sweden as its largest market, is available in other Nordic countries and also plans to launch in Canada, Germany, Austria and Switzerland by the end of 2023.
Its expansion in bigger streaming markets will make it face off with larger players with big content budgets. HBO Max for one has been rapidly expanding across Europe with plans to launch in 15 European countries this year.
“We are representing Nordic content and that is a fairly small niche … services like Netflix, HBO and others are getting increasingly alike which makes it more difficult for them to differentiate,” Jensen said.
With plans for more than 70 original shows in 2022, NENT also has rights to sporting events such as Bundesliga, English Premier League, UEFA competitions, Formula One and Winter sports.
Adjusted quarterly operating income fell to 121 million Swedish crowns ($13.2 million) compared with 426 million a year earlier, including a 219 million impact due to Viaplay’s international expansion.
($1 = 9.1407 Swedish crowns)
(Reporting by Supantha Mukherjee in Stockholm, editing by Helena Soderpalm and Susan Fenton)
