eBusiness Weekly
Nordic Entertainment Group (NENT Group), the Nordic region’s leading streaming company, will launch its Viaplay streaming service in the Netherlands in Q1 2022 as the next step in its ongoing international expansion.
Viaplay will become the exclusive Dutch home of Formula 1® in a three-year deal to 2024 and Bundesliga football until 2029, and will offer viewers a unique combination of premium live sports, Viaplay Originals, international films and series, and kids content.
Anders Jensen, NENT Group President and CEO: “The Netherlands is an ideal market for Viaplay and a very attractive next step towards our ambition of becoming the European streaming champion.
“Our long-term and multi-market partnerships with key sports rights owners, together with our ever-increasing line-up of original and exclusive content, will enable us to offer Dutch viewers something new and unique.
“When bringing Viaplay to a new market, we look for clear opportunities to grow, innovate, collaborate and take leadership. The Netherlands delivers on all counts.
“Given the content offerings that we will now have for our international markets, I am confident that we will at the very least meet our target of 4.5 million international subscribers by the end of 2025. We look forward to sharing further updates in the coming months and at our next Capital Markets Day in late September.”
The enthusiasm and passion for Formula 1 in the Netherlands is currently shifting into a new gear as 23-year-old Red Bull Racing superstar Max Verstappen accelerates towards the pinnacle of the sport and battles for a maiden world title.
Since becoming the youngest ever Formula 1® driver at the 2015 Australian Grand Prix and the sport’s youngest ever race winner at the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix, Verstappen has landed 11 victories, 46 podium finishes and a top three spot in both the 2019 and 2020 FIA Formula One World Championships.
The local appeal of Formula 1 will be driven further by the return of the Dutch Grand Prix to the calendar from 2021, giving Dutch fans the opportunity to see the world’s best drivers take on the famous banked corners of the seaside Zandvoort circuit for the first time in 36 years.
In the Netherlands, Viaplay will show all Formula 1 races live, along with every qualifying session and free practice, between 2022-2024. The coverage will be led by world-class Dutch commentators and experts, and will feature extensive and innovative studio programming.
Each year the Dutch Grand Prix will be broadcast live on a free-to-air basis in the Netherlands. Viaplay will additionally make available a total of six races, which shall include the Dutch Grand Prix, on a free-to-view basis as well as a highlights package from all events.
Bundesliga is a highly attractive sports right in the Netherlands, with local stars such as Justin Kluivert (RB Leipzig), Jeremie Frimpong (Bayer 04 Leverkusen), Javairô Dilrosun (Hertha Berlin), Jeremiah St. Juste (Mainz 05) and more than 20 other Dutch players currently featuring in Germany’s top football division.
Viaplay will show more than 300 Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2 live matches every season, as well as the German Supercup and the Bundesliga promotion and relegation play-offs. Viaplay’s Bundesliga coverage will include Dutch commentary and studio programming.
Alongside its unrivalled sports portfolio, NENT Group is the Nordic region’s leading producer of original drama, with more than 40 premieres planned for 2021.
Viaplay will show a wide range of Nordic and international Viaplay Original series and films including local Dutch Viaplay Originals with volume gradually built up over time. In addition, NENT Group has long-term relationships with major US and international studios.
Today, 98 percent of the Netherlands’ 8 million households have a broadband connection and 90 percent pay for a TV subscription.
Of the 7.9 million TV households, 3.8 million have a video streaming subscription, with approximately 1.6 subscriptions per household.
The total number of video streaming subscriptions is projected to grow from 6.1 million in 2020 to 10.3 million in 2025, and the penetration of video streaming services from 48 percent to 66 percent.
The number of subscriptions per household is expected to increase to 1.9.
Subscription video streaming revenues in the Netherlands are projected to grow from approximately EUR 440m in 2020 to EUR 845m in 2025 (source: Ampere Analysis).
The launch date, pricing and packaging of Viaplay in the Netherlands will be announced in due course.
Viaplay is currently available in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
Viaplay will be launched in Poland in August and in the US in late 2021, followed by the Netherlands in Q1 2022 and then four additional markets by the end of 2023.
NENT Group’s partnerships with Formula 1 and Bundesliga now cover 10 European markets. In April, NENT Group agreed a historic Bundesliga agreement to 2029 in the Nordic region, Baltic countries and Poland, and will become the Polish home of Formula 1 from 2023. — Yahoo Finance
