NENT Group appoints Gave as Head of Viafree
April 2, 2019
Nordic Entertainment Group (NENT Group) has appointed Cecilia Gave as SVP & Group Head of Viafree, its pan-Nordic ad-funded streaming service. Gave joins the Group Executive Management team and reports to NENT Group President and CEO Anders Jensen. Gave joined NENT Group in 2016 as Chief Operating Officer NENT Sports Sweden.
In her new role, Gave is responsible for the overall strategic, commercial and business development of Viafree. Available across the Nordic region, Viafree offers exclusive digital-first content, selected original Nordic drama, reality shows, comedy, live sports and more. The Viafree app has been downloaded more than 3 million times since its launch in 2016. More than 1 million users in Sweden have signed up since Viafree introduced mandatory log-in, which will also be launched in Denmark, Norway and Finland in due course.
Alexander Bastin, SVP & Viaplay Chief Commercial Officer, will now focus fully on the business strategy, operational execution and commercial development of NENT Group’s premium subscription streaming service Viaplay.
Jakob Mejlhede Andersen, EVP & Viaplay Chief Content Officer, will continue to lead Viaplay’s increasing original production activities, while also managing NENT Group’s content acquisitions team. NENT Group will premiere a minimum of 20 original series on Viaplay every year, while continuing to acquire the best international films, series and kids content.
Jensen commented: “Viaplay and Viafree entertain millions of viewers across the Nordic region every day and have the potential to reach many millions more. Cecilia has done a fantastic job at our sports organisation and I am very happy that she will now take on responsibility for Viafree, which is one of our most exciting services. This will enable Alexander to focus fully on realising the full commercial potential of Viaplay, while Jakob will ensure that we take our original storytelling to the next level.”