MTG invests in drama, gaming

Scandinavian broadcaster Modern Times Group (MTG) has revealed the latest original drama to emerge from its Studios division and unveiled a US$100m investment in an online gaming firm.

Jakob Mejlhede Andersen

Veni Vidi Vici is a 10-part drama series that explores the consequences of a struggling Danish film director’s decision to take a job in the adult entertainment industry.

The series is written by Rafael Edholm and Santiago Gil (Love is a Drug), with Edholm as producer. Production starts later this year.

Jakob Mejlhede Andersen, MTG’s exec VP and head of programming and content development, said the show would be its “edgiest original series so far and a milestone on our journey to become the Nordic region’s leading producer of original content.”

He added: “There’s a huge appetite for complex drama and Veni Vidi Vici will be a captivating experience for both Nordic and international audiences.”

MTG Studios’ first original series, Swedish Dicks, debuted on Viaplay in September and has recently been extended into a second season.

Its output also includes Nordic noir drama Hassel and its first original film, SuperSwede, about the life of Swedish Formula 1 driver Ronnie Peterson. Its first kids’ series, The Big Experiment, will premiere on Viaplay in the Nordics on December 1.

The company has also agreed a €90m (US$100m) deal to acquire a 35% stake in German online games developer and publisher InnoGames.

The arrangement, which values InnoGames at €260m, includes an option for MTG to acquire a further 16% of the company at the same valuation before the end of September 2017.

MTG has bought the stake from London-based investment firm Eight Roads Ventures and the company’s Hamburg-based founders.

InnoGames, which launched in 2007, creates strategy and role-playing games and runs four studios that employ 400 people, with 150 million registered users.

The firm’s management team will remain at the company, with the deal subject to German and Austrian merger approvals.

It’s the latest digital investment for MTG, which has previously bought into eSports outfits such as ESL and video companies including Zoomin.TV and Splay.