Nordic Entertainment Group (NENT) is expanding its Viaplay streaming service into five new markets, starting with the UK next year, and then Canada, Germany, Austria and Switzerland in 2023. Viaplay will be available in these territories direct-to-consumer, as well as through partnerships with local distributors.

Viaplay’s kids content offering for this expansion effort will include acquired and originally produced series, films and documentaries from both domestic and international partners. And NENT is planning to increase its investment in original content, according to a statement from CEO Anders Jensen.

Viaplay is currently available in nine regions after rolling out recently in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland, and additional launches in the US (Q4 2021) and the Netherlands (Q1 2022) planned. NENT expects Viaplay’s subscriber base to hit 12 million by the end of 2025, with roughly half of these users coming from international markets.

NENT has been busy expanding its lineup of original programming for kids of late. The company has partnered with Banijay-owned Filmlance International to produce a new adaptation of Astrid Lindgren’s book Ronja the Robber’s Daughter, which will premiere exclusively on Viaplay in 2023. And in 2019, NENT teamed up with London-based Moonbug to produce Mia’s Magic Playground (pictured), the first spinoff from the Little Baby Bum brand.