NENT Group, Elisa Viihde Join Forces To Launch New Service

Nordic Entertainment Group (NENT Group), a leading streaming company across the Nordics, and Finland’s top local streaming service Elisa Viihde have joined forces to launch a new service in Finland.

Named Elisa Viihde Viaplay, the new platform will combine Elisa Viihde Aitio’s content and the films and series package from Viaplay, NENT Group’s streaming service, starting during the last quarter of this year.

Set to launch June 30, Elisa Viihde Viaplay will boast a selection of local and Nordic original content, as well as international movies, classic series and kids’ content in Finland.

The alliance between the two services makes sense as Elisa Viihde Aitio (“Arctic Circle”) and Viaplay (“Love Me”) are among Finland’s most popular streaming services. By combining their strengths, they will be able to rival global services such as Netflix.

“By joining forces with NENT Group, we are able to offer Finnish customers an exciting combination of high-quality content with a strong focus on Finnish and Nordic original series,” said Veli-Matti Mattila, CEO of Elisa.

“We expect viewers to embrace this innovative combined service that provides extensive content and represents excellent value for money,” said Mattila.

Elisa is one of the biggest producers of Finnish drama, having launched 20 original series, notably “Arctic Circle,” “All the Sins,” “Shadow Lines” and “Bullets.” The service will continue delivering series, and will also be backing Finnish movies.

Viaplay is already the biggest Scandinavian streaming service and is now available all across the Nordics, having recently launched in Iceland. The banner has already launched 80 originals already and is set to roll out 30 more this year.

Anders Jensen, NENT Group’s president and CEO, said NENT Group is aiming to “break new ground in streaming with the most innovative partnerships in the market.”

“Elisa Viihde Viaplay will bring together the Nordic region’s leading streaming company and a Finnish pioneer in telecoms and digital services to take streaming to the next level in Finland – a country with one of the highest broadband penetration rates in the world,” added Jensen.

“Elisa Viihde Viaplay is the perfect combination of our respective strengths – a standalone streaming service that will address the whole Finnish market and provide viewers with an even stronger and more diverse offering,” added the executive.