Swedish streaming service ViaPlay has fallen into freefall. Earlier today, the company announced that it had fired its CEO and to make matters worse, the value of the company evaporated on the Stockholm stock exchange. According to sports marketer Chris Woerts, the company wanted to grow too quickly, ‘they gambled and lost’.
CEO Anders Jensen had to leave the field after disappointing results, and ‘a cocktail of negative messages’, says Woerts. The company has, among other things, the broadcasting rights of Formula 1 in the Netherlands, but a hasty expansion in the United Kingdom and the United States, a stagnation in the number of subscribers and falling advertising revenues are too much of a good thing.
Most expensive subscription
According to Woerts, ViaPlay will focus on the home market of Sweden. ‘There is still enough stretch and enough profit in it.’ However, the question is whether ViaPlay can retain the Formula 1 rights in the Netherlands. “They bought it for a lot of money and offer the most expensive subscription in terms of streaming services.”
The F1 rights for the period after 2025 will come on the market in the coming month. Those rights are expensive. The question is whether they still have the money for this.’ This offers opportunities for Vodafone-Ziggo, where the races could be seen until 2022. ‘If they get the chance, they will buy the rights tomorrow to restore everything to its former glory. Olav Mol back, Jack Plooij back and everything as usual.’
Expensive joke
But this will also be an expensive joke for Vodafone-Ziggo, he thinks. ‘You know one thing when buying sports rights. They are always getting more expensive. And Max’s success has proven that people are willing to take out a paid subscription.’ He expects the rights to cost between 40 and 50 million euros per year. “Mass is cash.”
A ViaPlay that will focus on its home market Sweden, could in time mean a departure from the Dutch, British, American and Canadian markets. “It won’t happen overnight. But a fall in value of more than 60 percent on the stock market is a punishment for bad policy, that confidence must be restored and that is what you do in the home markets. Conquering America is an illusion.’
