Baltic broadcast group Duo Media Networks is to launch its own streaming service in September, covering Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. To be made available throughout the Baltics and offered in four languages – Estonian, Latvian, Lithuanian and Russian – the new service will be called Duo One and will be bundled in with services offered by existing pay TV and streaming operators.
Jüri Pihel, former head of Estonian children’s channel Kids Network Television (KNTV) and Viaplay programme director said the launch of Duo One via existing VoD platforms would provide a major boost to Duo Media’s footprint in the region. The executive stated that the growth could be exponential: “This means that by Christmas instead of having 5,000 customers in the Baltics we will probably have 500,000,” said Pihel.
The half-million subs figure has only been reached so far by TV3 Group-owned Baltic streaming leader Go3, amid a congested market for on-demand services and platforms. Formed in late 2020, Duo Media Networks currently spans 19 channels across the Baltics and in the MENA region. The group is the result of a merger between Estonia’s leading commercial terrestrial channel Kanal 2 and the country’s two secondary channels, Channel 11 and 12, and a suite of pan-Baltic thematic channels, including KNTV.
Duo Media has already signed content agreements with six or seven operators, including Lithuania’s Telia, with negotiations taking place with several others, according to Pihel. Once up and running, Duo One will offer viewers a mixture of on-demand and live channels, with its strongest content subsequently being shown on Duo Media’s thematic channels.