NENT Group ups Viaplay target for second time in 2020

Following a successful H1, Nordic Entertainment Group (NENT Group) has upgraded its 2020 subscriber target to 3 million for streaming service Viaplay.

This new target would see Viaplay add more than 700,000 subscribers by the end of the year, representing an annual growth of 30%. This would not be unprecedented, considering that the first half of the year saw growth of 29% to 2.72 million.

This will be the second time in 2020 that NENT has upped its Viaplay target, with it previously upping this in June from 400,000 to 600,000.

NENT is looking for strong performance from Viaplay as its advertising and pay TV subscriber numbers suffer as a result of the coronavirus pandemic – its overall Q2 sales were at SEK2.624 billion, down 13% from Q1.

Viaplay meanwhile continues to grow with confidence in the streamer high internally.

The company said that the total number of streamed minutes across the Nordic region was up 34% in July and August  from the same period last year while viewed minutes of sports content were up 52% and Viaplay Store transactions were up 39%.

Viaplay has also developed into arguably the strongest sports package in the region, amassing rights to the likes of the English Premier League, UEFA Champions League, NHL and Formula 1.

Anders Jensen, NENT Group President and CEO, said: “The range and depth of Viaplay’s offering are both unmatched and we continue to outperform expectations. This latest upgrade to our paying subscriber target shows the relevance of our offering and the strength of our strategy, and would take us to the 3 million milestone in the Nordics, with Q4 the stronger of the two remaining quarters.

“Viaplay is a unique Nordic streaming story with highly engaged viewers, and we now look forward to welcoming more customers both in the Nordics and in new markets when Viaplay launches in the Baltic countries early next year.”