Aspiro’s music service WiMP available to 700,000 Canal Digital customers in Norway- Aspiro positions itself as leading partner to large distributors
Apiro today announced that it has signed a significant distribution deal with Canal Digital, the largest Nordic provider of TV services with approximately 3 million household customers. The partnership sees WiMP, Aspiro’s acclaimed music service, being offered as part of the standard TV subscription to every one of Canal Digital’s 700,000 customers in Norway. For Aspiro, listed on NASDAQ OMX in Stockholm, the deal is worth 50 million SEK over 18 months. The service will be rolled-out in the coming months.
“This partnership is ground-breaking, and is to our knowledge one of the largest of its kind. We are immensely proud to have been able to bring labels, publishers and distributors together and offer consumers a great music service straight into their homes”, commented Gunnar Sellæg, CEO of Aspiro. “It’s also an important step in the right direction for our industry that a TV-distributor bundles music with its core offerings. Streaming services is all about easy access to unlimited music, and now the majority of all connected homes in Norway can enjoy WiMP as part of their Canal Digital subscription” Sellæg added.
WiMP is a music streaming service that aims to offer the most comprehensive library of local music, be first with all the latest releases and easy to use. WiMP is much more than just an empty search box – WiMP guides users to music they like by offering rich and relevant editorials.
”This partnership will elevate our digital entertainment offering to new heights. We hope that bundling WiMP and its millions of songs with our TV subscriptions will both delight our customers and drive the transformation of how Norwegians consume music in the future”, said Kenneth Tjønndal Pettersen, Communication Director at Canal Digital Norway. ”It’s a big day for Canal Digital, our customers and the entire music industry”.
Aspiro is already collaborating with Telenor in Norway, Denmark and Sweden as a distribution partner for WiMP. Aspiro is also delivering white-labelled solutions, which means that the products are customized to meet the requirements of the partner. Music Box, the innovative new music service marketed by Portugal Telecom, is a prime example of Aspiro’s unique ability to deliver end-to-end solutions.
“It is our intention to launch music services in more markets during 2011, under our own brand or with partners” Gunnar Sellæg continued. “The Canal Digital partnership is beneficial to all as Aspiro gets access to wider distribution, Canal Digital will enjoy brand association with WiMP, and of course the consumer who gets to listen to music as much as they want to” Sellæg concluded.
For more information, please contact: Kristin Castillo Eldnes, Head of Corporate communication and IR of Aspiro, +47 908 07 389, kristin.eldnes@aspiro.com, Gunnar Sellæg, CEO of Aspiro, +47 901 81 528, gunnar.selleg@aspiro.com, Kenneth Tjønndal Pettersen, Communication Director of Canal Digital, +47 982 57 555.
Aspiro in Brief
Aspiro has unique positioning as the world’s only provider of complete TV and music streaming services for partners that want to put their own branding on the service. Aspiro has over ten years’ experience in mobile technology and retail in northern Europe, and delivers services to partners worldwide like Deutsche Telekom, Telefónica O2, Telenor, 3, TeliaSonera, Tele2, the BBC, Aftonbladet, mBlox, TVNorge, Entel and VG. Aspiro is listed on Nasdaq OMX Nordic Exchange Stockholm. Sales for continuing operations in 2010 were SEK 266m and the company has some 117 employees.
Canal Digital in Brief
Canal Digital is Norway's largest TV distributor and the second largest broadband provider. Canal Digital consists of Canal Digital Norge AS and Canal Digital Kabel TV AS. Canal Digital currently delivers television signals to around one million households in Norway. Canal Digital Norge AS delivers TV signals via satellite, in addition to television distribution Canal Digital Kabel TV AS, broadband, cable television and telephony. The company is headquartered at Fornebu in Oslo and has regional offices around Norway. The largest is located in Bergen, Trondheim, Oslo and Porsgrunn. The company has around 200 employees and 2009 had a total turnover of 3.8 billion Norwegian kroner. Canal Digital also has operations in Sweden, Denmark and Finland. The company is wholly owned by Telenor.