C More Entertainment, Scandinavia’s leading pay TV company has announced on Monday the appointment of Manfred Aronsson (pictured) as new CEO in replacement of Johan Kleberg. He will join the group on August 18 2014.

Manfred Aronsson has held different key positions in the Swedish TV market, including CEO of MTG Sweden from 2008 to 2012. He was previously at the helm of Canal+ (C More’s former name) from 2006 to 2007. “I’m very much anticipating returning to the company. During some time, C More has been under pressure not least in Norway and Denmark. My mission is to find the best possible road ahead and structure for C More, and also the optimal way to showcase the company’s extremely strong rights catalogue for sports, films and TV series,” said Aronsson. 

Controlled at 65% by TV4 Group/Bonnier and at 35% by Telenor, C More’s earnings have been falling steadily over the last five years, due to increased competition from other premium TV providers such as Viasat and Netflix, with total loss before tax reaching SEK675 million according to Kampanje.no. Speaking to the Norwegian trade website about his vision to put C More back in the black, Aronsson said he sees content distribution and packaging as key areas of growth. “Looking at Netflix, HBO Nordic and Viaplay, you can see that it is possible to distribute and charge for premium content. That is where there is growth. Linear TV premium channels have only 4-5 percent of the total viewing while online premium TV has nearly 45 percent of the viewing. The future of premium television is incredibly interesting, if you can reach online customers”, he said.

C More carries film deals with major Scandinavian companies including Nordisk Film, NonStop Entertainment and with Svensk Filmindustri on its foreign titles and classic Swedish films. Films are also shown on C More’s online service Filmnet.

The next TV series to premiere on C More is the Danish supernatural series Heartless that will have its premiere on C More Sweden on June 23, right after True Blood. Next will be the final season of the Swedish Wallander crime series starring Krister Henriksson. The first episode will be broadcast on July 1st and subscribers will be able to watch the following five episodes each day of the first week of July.