to update The streaming service Viaplay is being pulled from many countries, but it will still be active in the Netherlands. Financial results have been under pressure for some time and the Swedish entertainment company does not expect to earn investments in new programs in many countries. With the reorganization, a quarter of the functions in Viaplay will also disappear.
The streaming platform, which is known for broadcasting Formula 1 races, wants to focus only on Scandinavia and the Netherlands from now on. This means that ViaPlay will leave the UK, the US, Canada, Poland and the Baltic states. The company will continue Viaplay Select, partner companies releasing series and films abroad.
And with this, newly appointed CEO Jürgen Madsen Lindemann drastically changes the course of the company founded in 2018. Under its predecessor, Viaplay has invested heavily in expanding into new markets.
Lindemann is also concerned about all future costs for many programs. Turnover is increasing, but not fast enough to be able to make all future payments. That’s why the company also has to talk to its lenders about the terms of a number of loans, the CEO says in an explanation of the quarterly numbers.
Viaplay is also considering looking for a new buyer for the entire company. This could be one of the future scenarios that competitor Netflix is considering. It is also possible for Viaplay to sell parts, “sublease” sports licenses or raise new capital.
It was previously announced that Viaplay had laid off employees in the Netherlands, although it is not known exactly how many. The company has about 1,500 employees around the world.
In the second quarter, Viaplay suffered a loss of approximately SEK 5.9 billion (€513.7 million). In addition to declining advertising revenue, the company is also battling rising costs, including sports broadcast rates that are rising in line with inflation. Viaplay has around 7 million subscribers and expects that number to increase slightly this year.
