NENT Group Restarts Unscripted Sale, Rebrands DRG

Nordic Entertainment Group (NENT Group) is continuing with its reorganization to focus on the growth of the Viaplay streaming service and increasing its drama output.

NENT Group is in ongoing discussions with potential partners to invest in the increased development of its scripted drama output and operations. The group has also restarted the process to divest its non-scripted, branded entertainment and events businesses. (Both processes had been temporarily paused due to the impact of the Coronavirus pandemic.)

DRG has been rebranded as NENT Studios UK, to sit alongside NENT Studios’ two other divisions, NENT Studios Nordics & CEE and NENT Studios US. Richard Halliwell, previously DRG’s CEO and managing director of NENT Studios UK, has now been appointed as CEO of NENT Studios UK to take over from Jakob Mejlhede Andersen, who left the business in February.

Anders Jensen, NENT Group’s president and CEO, commented: “The high subscriber intake and viewing levels we have seen at Viaplay, and the clear demand for high-quality scripted drama from both Viaplay and other media companies around the world, have emphasized the importance of the reorganization of NENT Studios. Viaplay and others want to invest more in scripted drama, so this is where we are focusing our resources. The international expansion of Viaplay will only increase this demand further. We are holding discussions with potential partners regarding investing in our scripted operations so that we can increase our output further. And we have now recommenced the process to sell the other parts of NENT Studios—these are attractive and successful businesses, for which we have already received encouraging levels of interest, but have very limited synergy with our streaming strategy and ambitions. Our focus is on Viaplay and the opportunity to produce more original shows that are popular with viewers in the Nordics and around the world.”