TV4 rolls out new online platform

Swedish broadcast group TV4 has thrown down the gauntlet to international webcasters due to launch in Scandinavia by unveiling its own new online film and TV platform.

Filmnet.se, backed by Bonnier-owned networks TV4 and pay-TV broadcaster C More, will offer viewers a range of Swedish and international content for an initial monthly price of SEK49 (US$7.45). This will later rise to SEK129.

An interface that includes genre categories, peer recommendations and search functions will help users find new video content to watch.

Films will be available from 20th Century Fox, MGM Studios, Paramount Pictures, Disney, Universal Studios, Sony Pictures and Warner Bros. TV shows will come from HBO, Showtime, NBCUniversal, Turner Broadcasting, Warner Bros, Starz and BBC Worldwide. Series will include Game of Thrones, The Newsroom, True Blood, 30 Rock, Weeds and Dexter.

Casten Almqvist, CEO of TV4 Group, said Filmnet is an example of the company’s commitment to the future of television, while it will continue to focus on its core linear TV business.

The beta version of Filmnet will launch on Mac and PC next week, before it becomes available on iPad in mid-October. It will then roll out to iPhone and Android phones and tablets.

The move comes as US cablenet HBO and online platform Netflix prepare to launch across the Nordic region later this year. Other local VoD players in the Nordic market include Voddler and Viaplay as well as Amazon-owned LoveFilm.

Filmnet will launch as a complement to C More’s own online platform, C More Play, as its CEO Johan Kleberg told C21 his focus is now on developing its range of content available online.

Meanwhile, C More has signed a new exclusive multi-year film licensing deal with Twentieth Century Fox Television Distribution. The agreement gives C More first-run rights to all new Fox films, while they will also be available on C More Play. Library titles will also be available online.

Last week, C More secured new content deals with HBO and Sony Pictures Television.