Viaplay Group has concluded an agreement with Amazon Prime Video for Premier league in Denmark and Sweden. The deal gives Prime Video the right to show ten percent of all Premier league games per season, which is equivalent to one match per round. In total, the sublicensing deal includes 38 games that will be exclusively broadcasted on Amazon Prime Video.

“We have made an overall assessment that it is the right way to go for us. We are always open to partnerships that give us the best return on our investments”, says Christian Albeck, acting CEO of Viaplay Group in Sweden.

The new deal covers the four upcoming seasons, starting this fall at the kick-off of the new season. The first match of each round, with kick-off time at 1.30pm on Saturdays, will be exclusively broadcasted on Prime Video. The games broadcasted on Prime Video will be with local commentary and at no extra charge for Prime Video members.

Last year, the Premier league was the most popular sports league in both Denmark and Sweden in terms of viewing interest. Close to 20 percent of the countries’ 15-74-year-olds stated interests in watching the league. This is concluded in Mediavision’s 2023 Sports Analysis.

Warner Bros. Discovery’s new streaming service Max, which merges content from HBO Max and Discovery+ has finally gotten a release date in the Nordics. On the 21st of May, the new service will launch in selected European markets, including the Nordics.

Three subscription plans have been communicated for the Nordics, as well as an add-on for sports. First off is a base package with ads, allowing two simultaneous streams. Next is the standard package, which is the same as the first, except without ads. Lastly there is a premium package, which allows four simultaneous streams and Dolby Atmos sound as well as 4K resolution. Prices for the different tiers has not yet been communicated, but according to the press release it will be announced in the upcoming weeks.

Highlighted content for the launch includes The Paris 2024 Olympic Games and the second season of House of the Dragon, which premieres 17th of June. The Paris 2024 Olympic Games will be included in all subscriptions.

The press release states that existing HBO Max customers will be able to retain their current profiles and viewing history. In some cases, the HBO Max app will automatically update to the Max app. In other cases, when users open their HBO Max app, they will be prompted to download a new app. Discovery+ and Eurosport premium SVOD customers will receive information in due course on how to subscribe to Max.

No official information has been given regarding the lifetime-half-price offer, which was offered at the launch of HBO Max in the Nordics in 2021. Danish news site Flatpanels contacted Warner Bros Dicovery regarding this, and Esben Elborne, Head of Communications and PR at WBD answered.

“If you have signed up for HBO Max with a lifetime discount, you will keep the discount (50% off the current price) as long as your subscription is active and you comply with the terms and conditions of the campaign”, Elborne wrote. However, it is still unclear which of the new tiers this applies to, and whether the terms and conditions will be updated upon the launch of Max.

Spotify states that about half of Spotify’s Premium subscribers have engaged in education or self-help-themed podcasts. Now, the company is testing a new product area for those users. On Monday, Spotify launched a test for video-based courses for users in the UK. This is made through partnerships with educational tech companies BBC Maestro, PLAYvirtuoso, Skillshare, and Thinkific. The courses on Spotify cover a variety of topics categorized into four main topics: make music, get creative, learn business, and healthy living.

“Testing video courses in the UK allows us to explore an exciting opportunity to better serve the needs of our users who have an active interest in learning. Many of our users engage with podcasts and audiobooks on a daily basis for their learning needs, and we believe this highly engaged community will be interested in accessing and purchasing quality content from video course creators”, said Babar Zafar, VP Product Development at Spotify.

Both free and Premium Spotify users in the UK can now trial two lessons per course for free, before making the decision to purchase additional lessons. The average cost of a full course ranges from 20 to 80 GPB. No information has been provided regarding a possible expansion of courses on Spotify.

A few weeks ago, Nordic media company Aller Media changed its organizational structure. The company moved from a country-based structure in the four Nordic countries to a new, joint Nordic structure called Aller Media Nordic. In connection with the new organizational structure, the company stated that the work to strengthen the company’s digital investments will intensify.

“There will be a sharper digital focus in Aller Media Nordic which will help us build the company for the future”, says the new CEO of Aller Media Nordic, Dag Sørsdahl. The company also stated that Aller Media Nordic will continue to have a leading Nordic position in print publishing through the group’s brands.

Aller Media has now further sharpened its new focus by making cuts in its agency business in Denmark. The Aller-owned agency OTW is closing, resulting in layoffs of ten employees. Six employees are also leaving the agency Heartbeats, as the agency operations of Heartbeats will be closing. Going forward, Heartbeat will solely focus on the media outlet heartbeats.dk, while its commercial operations within branded content and native will become part of Aller Media’s sales department.

“We have chosen to sharpen our focus on the media business, which through the digitization of recent years has achieved some strong positions in the Danish media landscape. The sharpened focus means that we will exclusively focus on operating and publishing the media heartbeats.dk as part of the media business, and that the agency part of Heartbeats will be closed down,” says Charlotte Riparbelli, Director of Aller Media Denmark, to Mediawatch.

Mediavision: Growing demand for local content in the Nordics – Broadband TV News

Därför blir streamingtjänsterna allt dyrare – och sämre – PC för alla

Mediavision: Ad-Supported SVOD Gaining Traction in the Nordics – Media Play News

Mediavision: Starkt intresse för HVOD i Sverige – Dagens Media

Efterspørgslen på nordisk tv-indhold stiger men udbuddet kan ikke følge med – Mediawatch

Sweden: Interest growing in ad-supported streaming – Advanced Television

Svenskar vill se mer svenskt på streamad tv – Sveriges Radio

Illegal affär kostar filmindustrin miljarder – Dagens PS

Var fjärde svensk strömmar olaglig tv – SVT

Kan bli det store gjennombruddet for denne typen TV-abonnement – Kampanje

Mediavision: Digitala ljudtjänster tar andelar på ljudmarknaden – Radionytt

Return of media piracy fuelling other crimes, expert says – Yle

Krisen i tv-branschen fortsätter – nu ökar piratkopieringen – Aftonbladet