TV4 and C More Join Forces Digitally

Swedish TV4 Group and Nordic pay network C More have started a new digital cooperation focusing on services and offerings. C More will also be the name of the new subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) service currently under development that will be launched later this year, a project being run in cooperation with Svensk Filmindustri and Finnish network MTV.

“The TV4 Group and C More are joining forces regarding services and offers,” says Casten Almqvist, CEO for the TV4 Group and head of Bonnier’s business area Broadcasting. “The common denominator for the new ecosystem we’re building is that we’re putting even more clearly focus on the user.”

C More is being transformed from a linear broadcasting company into a digital-first company. C More’s linear channels will be an extension of the new SVOD service, which will be the new main offering to both service providers and direct customers. All of C More’s current VOD services (Filmnet, C Sports and C More Play) as well as sections of TV4 Play Premium will be migrated to the new C More during the year.

“We’re facing the third wave of the OTT market, with a powerful increase in subscribers, services and offerings,” says Manfred Aronsson, CEO for C More. OTT stands for over-the-top, which is media provided over the Internet directly to consumers rather than through an operator or other service provider. “With the new SVOD service, which in the future will provide films, TV series, children’s programs and sports, C More will take a sizeable chunk of the growth. Our linear channels will continue to play an important role, not least for inspiration and guidance, but the freedom to consume our content on demand will be the main reason to subscribe.”

Development of the SVOD service, which will also be called C More, has been ongoing since fall 2014. The team consists of employees from TV4, C More, MTV and Svensk Filmindustri. It is part of Bonnier’s ongoing OTT project, led by Cecilia Beck-Friis, Executive Vice President for the TV4 Group and CDO for Bonnier’s Broadcasting business area. 

“This is an important part of our digital transformation – we must offer our users a simpler and more seamless experience,” says Beck-Friis. “It’s not just about trying to create a single service to pull in all users, but to offer a smorgasbord of content, services and products that appeal in different ways to a broad audience. After C More’s new SVOD service, our big AVOD (audio video on demand) initiative is next in line, as well as comprehensive projects with food and sports.”