Besides a 21% growth in paying customers, Viaplay increased the number of started streams by 40.5%, and the number of monthly hours viewed reached 32, up 25%.

A total of eight Viaplay original productions premiered in 2017 and were among the most popular new shows across the Nordics:

  • Hassel was number 1 in both Sweden and Finland 
  • Occupied season 2 number 2 in Norway 
  • Veni Vidi Vici number 2 in Denmark 
  • Alex number 2 in Sweden and number 4 in Finland. Besides TV drama, transactional VOD of films also increased year on year, especially the number of purchases (+29%).

Alexander Bastin, Head of Viaplay said: “The investment in self-produced content is a great success and remains a focus area for us to secure our leading position in the Nordic region. 2017 has been our best year so far and the highest priority is to continue to grow. To do that, we will continue to invest in self-produced content and in 2018 we will have several major shows, such as the fantasy thriller Hidden with Izabella Scorupco in the title role.”

Viaplay also unveiled that for the first time since its 2011 launch, viewing on big TV screens was more popular than on mobile devices, with a user base of 64% vs 61%.

Anders Jensen, MTG EVP & Chairman Nordic Entertainment said: “In just a few years, we’ve become a Nordic drama powerhouse producing amazing original content that’s captivating audiences across the region and beyond. On big screens and small, our stories have never been more relevant. We will continue to invest in our platforms, people and productions to take the Viaplay growth phenomenon to the next level.”

MTG Group announced earlier this month that it had agreed to sell its Nordic broadcasting and entertainment businesses to the Danish group TDC, but the telecom operator then pulled out after it accepted a take-over offer from three local pension funds and the Australian group Macquarie. 

Most new series watched on Viaplay in 2017:
Denmark:
1/ Prison Break Sequel
2/ Veni Vidi Vici (Viaplay Original)
3/ S.W.A.T.
4/ The Blacklist
5/ Lethal Weapon

Finland
1/ Hassel (Viaplay Original)
2/ Leathal Weapon
3/ The Blacklist-Redemption
4/ Alex (Viaplay Original)
5/ The Blacklist

Norway
1/ Prison Break Sequel
2/ Occupied season 2 (Viaplay Original)
3/ Elven
4/ The Blacklist
5/ SWAT

Sweden:
1/ Hassel (Viaplay Original)
2/ Alex (Viaplay Original)
3/ Prison Break
4/ Outlander
5/ The Blacklist