Sports and esports specialist Roger Lodewick has been appointed senior VP and CEO of Viaplay Netherlands, where he will hold commercial and operational responsibility for the streaming service.

Roger Lodewick

The position is effective immediately and will see Lodewick report to Peter Nørrelund, Viaplay Group exec VP and chief sports & business development officer.

Viaplay Netherlands say the company will benefit from Lodewick’s 20-year executive track record of working in global gaming, entertainment, media and sports businesses.

Lodewick joins from Copenhagen-based games and esports company ESL FACEIT Group, where he held the role of president sports games.

Prior to that he spent four years heading portfolio businesses owned by esports and gaming investment company Modern Times Group, holding the positions of CEO of DreamHack Sports Games and Co-CEO of DreamHack.

Lodewick also had a 12-year tenure at TEAM Marketing, the global marketing agency for the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League.

In this role, he held responsibility for media rights sales in multiple European territories and in sub-Saharan Africa. He was part of the team who transformed the UEFA Cup into the UEFA Europa League and centralised its commercial rights to UEFA.

Lodewick will use his contacts and experience to strengthen Viaplay’s sports offering, which is currently the Dutch home of Formula 1, Premier League football and PDC Darts.

The streamer’s portfolio also includes Bundesliga, EFL Championship and Carabao Cup football, Hoofdklasse field hockey and Enfusion kickboxing.

Peter Nørrelund, Viaplay Group EVP and chief sports & business development officer, said: “Roger brings the proven commercial, operational and strategic know-how to take our Dutch business to the next level.

“We have an outstanding sports streaming product that is profitable and continuously growing in value for fans across the Netherlands. I am very happy to welcome Roger to Viaplay as we look forward to the many opportunities ahead.”

Lodewick said: “I’m thrilled to join Viaplay and lead the team who produce and commercialise the most appealing sports offering in the Netherlands.

“The company’s country-based operating model gives us both flexibility and local ownership, and I’m confident that we can continue growing and reinforce Viaplay’s position as the benchmark in Dutch sports streaming.”

Scandinavian streamer Viaplay has endured a torrid time recently. In 2023, it struggled with an economic downturn, lower subscriber numbers and ad market collapse all coinciding with its attempts to expand the service around the world and invest in a slate of expensive scripted originals.

In June, an extensive cost control programme and a revamped Nordic operation were introduced by new Viaplay Group president and CEO Jørgen Madsen Lindemann.

In July, Viaplay announced a downsized operational model, which then led to changes in programming management, most notably chief commercial officer for the Nordics Filippa Wallestam’s departure.

Norway’s Shibsted and French pay TV outfit Canal+ are among the companies to have picked up minority stakes in the business since it put itself up for sale during the summer.

In December, Viaplay reached a deal to offload its UK sports streaming service Premier Sports and Paprika Studios content business, and aims to raise SEK4bn (US$380m) in new equity, write down SEK2bn in debt and renegotiate the terms of a debt now totalling SEK14.6bn.