According to industry experts and economists, an international investment and expensive sports rights in combination with higher prices and a new sharing policy have led to the crisis Viaplay is in now.
On Monday, Viaplay plummeted by 60 percent on the stock exchange and this week the company has issued a profit warning and the CEO has left his post. Dagens Industri speculates that Sweden may be too small for local streaming services such as CMore and Viaplay to fit in the same market and fight for the same expensive rights.
Why is it going so badly?
Marie Nilsson, CEO of Mediavision, does not want to comment specifically on Viaplay, but says that the industry is going through economically difficult times in general.
"If you're going to buy content like a Swedish company, you usually buy in dollars, and the dollar exchange rate in relation to the Swedish krona has also become more and more of a concern because the Swedish krona has hit rock bottom," she says.
Growth prevails
Viewing behavior has changed after the pandemic subsided, but according to Marie Nilsson, there is still growth in the streaming market and the customer base has not yet subsided. However, the audience has learned to be "unfaithful" as needed.
"For example, when a football league ends, like now at the beginning of June, you drop out of this very expensive subscription. There is no need to pay maybe over SEK 800, but then you go down to another, cheaper subscription. We as consumers have matured over these years as the economy has deteriorated and have learned how easy it is to jump in and out.