Viaplay is letting go of more than 25% of its staff as it pulls streaming out of the U.S. and UK and mulls a sale.
The embattled Nordic operation has unveiled a new strategy and plan alongside its Q2 results, which were better than expected but have been paired with a decision to “regrettably let go of more than 25% of our people,” according to new CEO Jørgen Madsen Lindemann, who replaced Anders Jensen last month with immediate effect.
Redundancies will impact around 450 people and the cost of restructuring will be approximately $4M, according to today’s Q2 update, with Lindemann set to address investors and journalists in the next hour.
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Going forwards, Viaplay will discontinue its low tier non-sports offering in the likes of the U.S. and UK and focus on the Nordic and Dutch markets, along with the sale of content internationally via Viaplay Select. It will continue focusing on Nordic originals, the likes of upcoming series Ronja the Robber’s Daughter (pictured). Viaplay, which rebranded from NENT last year, had nascent operations in the UK, U.S. and other markets such as Germany under Jensen, but is retrenching to focus on its heartlands and distribution. Jensen said “international expansion assumptions, including the timelines to profitability, have also been pushed materially into the future and we are moving quickly to address all of these challenges.”
Lindemann has therefore initiated an immediate strategic review of the entire business to consider all options including “equity injections or the sale of the whole Group.”
He said: “We are today announcing a new strategy and plan, which includes, but is not limited to, focusing on our core Nordic, Netherlands and Viaplay Select operations; implementing a new operational model; downsizing, partnering or exiting our other international markets; rightsizing and pricing our product offering in the Nordics and undertaking a major cost reduction programme.”
The redundancy decision was taken “for the sake of the future of our business,” he added, describing the move as “regrettable.”
