CANNES — It’s a two-way street. At Mipcom 2017, Studiocanal, the giant production-distribution-sales subsidiary of Canal Plus Group, took on sales duties on Viaplay, the ambitious Nordic SVOD service which is attempting to consolidate as a Canal Plus of the North: Committed to localized European drama with a social edge and international appeal.
Later that year, Viaplay, now part of Nent, after Modern Times Group’s division into two parts, commissioned SAM, 25% owned by Studiocanal, to produce is first Danish original, “Pro’s and Con’s,” seen at Series Mania, and on which Studiocanal handles worldwide distribution.
Now Studiocanal has licensed a bouquet of Canal Plus Creátion Originale series to the Nordic Entertainment Group (Nent) for their release via a bespoke Vive La France strand on Viaplay in June.
“Section Zero,” “Paris etc” and “Interns” are included in the deal.
“It is a pleasure to extend our relationship with the Nent Group and we are delighted that the company has chosen some of the very best French drama available to launch its new strand,” said
Beatriz Campos, Studiocanal head of international sales, TV.
She added: “We are sure that Viaplay’s ever-growing number of subscribers in the Nordic region will find these internationally relevant titles with a unique French twist very appealing.”
The large question is where the budding Canal Plus-Viaplay alliance, if still on a title by title basis, could now go next.