Mediavision: Growing demand for local content in the Nordics
FEBRUARY 8, 2024 11.24 EUROPE/LONDON BY JULIAN CLOVER


Viaplay orignal drama Limbo produced by Warner Bros ITVP Sweden

Demand for locally originated content in the Nordic region is so high that it is outstripping supply.

According to Mediavision’s latest Content Analysis, the economic downturn of the last year means that local content is being cut.

Nordic online video viewers’ demand for local content grew in the autumn of 2023 compared to the same period 2022. Local fiction and entertainment now account for 25% of all online viewing of on demand content. This excludes live sports, news, and social media content. However, the available streaming supply of local content is significantly lower than the demand. The share of local fiction and entertainment available on streaming services on the Nordic market is 6%.

“As the financial pressures persist, the production of local titles is at risk of declining in 2024, despite growing consumer demand. Much depends on how global actors are going to invest in Nordic productions going forward,” comments Hanna Ranby, analyst at Mediavision. “In the wake of the economic strain, we have also seen several new production collaborations here in the Nordics, which alleviates the cost for individual actors, while catering to the substantial appetite for local content among the Nordic viewers.”

Locally originated drama is most likely to be hit, as production costs for fiction are higher. While international players have stated their intention to produce locally it is still the local companies that account for the lion’s share of locally originated content.