Viaplay Group appoints Interim Chair and withdraws 2023 outlook

The Board of Viaplay Group announced that, due to ill health, Pernille Erenbjerg has notified the Nomination Committee that she is standing down from the Board with immediate effect. After discussion with the Nomination Committee, the Board has appointed existing non-executive Board Director Simon Duffy as Interim Chair while they search for a permanent successor.

At the same time, Viaplay Group announced the withdrawal of its previously communicated full year 2023 outlook. This follows a review of the group’s operations and performance by the recently appointed CEO and new management team. The company announced there is no change to the group’s Q2 2023 guidance.

Jørgen Madsen Lindemann was appointed as the new President and CEO on June 5 and immediately initiated a review of the group’s operations. The withdrawal of the 2023 outlook is one outcome of this review, and reflects a significantly weaker forward revenue and earnings outlook for the Nordic operations in particular, as the increase in largely fixed content costs in particular is not matched by sufficient revenue growth or cost savings, the company said.

As announced on June 28, the group’s new management team is taking a broad range of actions to address the underlying deterioration in earnings. These measures will be presented on July 20 and include an ongoing redundancy programme, content savings initiatives, a review of the international operations and non-core assets, and discussions with distribution partners.