Voddler receives 8 million dollar in investment led by Nokia Growth Partners

Voddler, Scandinavia’s leading video-on-demand (VOD) service, has received an investment from Nokia Growth Partners, the venture capital arm of Nokia. Nokia Growth Partners leads an investment of total 8 million US dollars.

In 2010, Voddler’s first full year of operation, Voddler showed 5 million movies from a growing catalog of 3 500 titles, with content from both international and domestic media majors, to over 850 000 customers throughout Scandinavia. Over 80% of the content on Voddler is for ad-funded and for free to the consumer. Its online video service is based on a patented streaming technology, which makes it cheaper and more efficient to stream film the more customers there are.  Voddler’s development is now focused on showing film on handheld devices, such as smart phones and tablets, as well as on Internet-connected TVs and set-top boxes.

"The entire entertainment industry is moving into digital distribution. Viewing films on computers and handheld devices are becoming more and more common. I know we’ll benefit tremendously from Nokia’s vast experience in mobility. Together we are creating significant potential for future growth and industry leadership," says Marcus Bäcklund, Voddler’s CEO.

Nokia Growth Partners is a leading global growth stage venture firm focused on mobile technology, services and media. 

"We are very pleased to lead this investment in Voddler and support the expansion of a very compelling video on demand service and business model. There are great opportunities ahead in innovating media delivery digitally and we believe Voddler is well positioned to do so," says Bo Ilsoe, partner at Nokia Growth Partners.

Final closing of the transaction is expected before the end of the first quarter of 2011.

For more information, please contact:
Anders Sjöman, VP Communications, Voddler, anders.sjoman@voddler.com, +46707176078

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About Voddler
Streaming video-on-demand service Voddler offers the best films and series legally on Internet-connected devices. Voddler offers both pay-per-view and free advertising-funded titles, where and when the viewer wants, with premium content from the world’s leading content companies. Founded in 2005, Voddler is headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden, and builds its service on a patented technology for managed distributed streaming, that makes it cheaper and more efficient to stream the more customers you have. Voddler is currently available in Sweden, Finland, Norway and Denmark. Voddler’s mission is to offer a premium video service for users, advertisers and content owners. See more at www.voddler.com.

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About Nokia Growth Partners
Nokia Growth Partners is the premier venture investor focused on growth stage companies in the mobile industry. With $350M under management, Nokia Growth Partners invests in companies and people that are changing the global face of mobility, communications and the Internet. Nokia Growth Partners offers a global perspective and deep network in the mobile industry to help accelerate company growth. We work closely with Nokia to facilitate successful partnerships between Nokia and portfolio companies. Nokia Growth Partners has offices in Sunnyvale, Helsinki, Beijing and New Delhi. Visit www.nokiagrowthpartners.com to know more.