Nordic pay TV chiefs out in Canal Digital restructure

Several country chief executives are leaving Nordic pay TV giant Canal Digital in regional restructure.

Jarl Söderman (pictured), John Nordin and Roger von Zernichow will all leave Canal Digital, the largest pay TV company in the Nordic region, as it centralises management.

Söderman has been running the company’s Danish operation, Nordin Sweden and Finland, and von Zernichow Norway. Canal Digital said they had all been offered positions within the restructured business, but decided to exit.

The reorganisation will see country specific roles in Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Finland removed in favour of what the company described as a “flatter structure”.

“We see that the similarities between the viewers in the different markets is greater than the differences,” said Ragnar Kårhus, president, Canal Digital.

“A common denominator is that they have changed their way of consuming television. In order to continue to deliver the best TV experience to our customers, we have now established a joint Nordic organisation, that will be assisted by local operational organisations.”

Soderman, in particular, is a veteran of the Scandi media sector, having spent eleven years as the Swedish CEO of Bonnier and then serving a 17-year tenure at Canal Digital. In that time he has, at different times, been the chief executive of its Swedish and Finnish operations, and, for the past five years has been running its operation in Denmark.

“The development within the media is now moving with a furious pace and it’s absolutely necessary to act fast and powerful in everything you do,” he said.

“This requires Nordic and impactful solutions together with quick decision-making and implementation processes to satisfy the increasingly demanding consumers with both content and the right technical solutions. That’s why I fully support this reorganisation, and I firmly believe that this is the right way to go for Canal Digital.”