NENT Studios appoints Bastin as CEO
May 27, 2020
Nordic Entertainment Group (NENT Group), the Nordic streaming company, has announced changes to the leadership of its NENT Studios businesses.
Alexander Bastin has been appointed as SVP and CEO of NENT Studios from 1 September, while Morten Mogensen has been appointed from the same date as SVP and Head of the NENT Studios businesses that are currently being sold. Both will be part of NENT Group’s extended Group Executive Management team, together with Kim Mikkelsen (SVP and Head of Sport), My Perrone (SVP and General Counsel) and Roberta Alenius (SVP and Head of Corporate Communications). The company’s Group Executive Management team has eight members and is unchanged.
NENT Group previously announced that it is reorganising its Studios businesses to focus on the growth of its Viaplay streaming service and demand for high quality scripted drama, and that it is in ongoing discussions with potential partners to invest in the accelerated development of its scripted drama output and operations.
Bastin joined NENT Group in 2013 to work in the Group’s content production businesses, and has subsequently held various leadership positions in the Group’s advertising- and subscription-funded streaming businesses, most recently as Viaplay Chief Commercial Officer and then Vice President of NENT Group’s subscription video on demand operations. Mogensen originally joined NENT Group in 2005 and has held various senior programming and content production roles, most recently as SVP and Head of NENT Studios Nordics and Central & Eastern Europe.
Anders Jensen, NENT Group President and CEO: “The main reason that we own production studios is to produce great content for Viaplay, both on our own and in partnership with other companies, and to sell this content to international customers. Viaplay premiered 21 high quality original productions in 2019 and we will premiere 30 original productions this year, with the ambition of 40 per year in the future. The realisation of this ambition requires a complete focus, which is why we are reorganising our studios operations, seeking investment partners and now making these leadership changes.”
Jensen continued: “Alexander’s background in content creation and in depth understanding of our streaming operations make him the perfect candidate for the new leadership role. He will work closely with our Content function and external partners to ensure that we deliver a stream of high quality drama series, films and documentaries on Viaplay. Our originals have proven that they can travel internationally, having been picked up by broadcasters and streamers around the world, and Alexander will build on this further moving forward. Meanwhile, Morten will have full focus on completing the divestment of the other parts of NENT Studios, which are attractive and successful businesses but have very limited synergy with our streaming strategy and ambitions. We have already received encouraging levels of interest in these companies.”