25 Million Viewers Turn to Toffee to Watch FIFA World Cup in Bangladesh

Amsterdam, 8 December 2022: VEON Ltd. (NASDAQ and Euronext Amsterdam: VEON), a global digital operator that provides converged connectivity and online services, announces that Banglalink’s Toffee, the largest digital entertainment platform in Bangladesh, has reached over 25 million viewers for its FIFA World Cup streaming service during the tournament’s ’Round of 16’ stage. 

The Toffee digital entertainment platform is operated by Banglalink, VEON’s digital operator in Bangladesh, and offers open access to customers of all telco operators in the country.

“World cup streaming has proved to be a compelling digital operator service and demonstrates the huge potential for digital entertainment on mobile devices,” states Kaan Terzioglu, CEO of VEON Group and Chairman of the Board of Banglalink.  “For the first time in history, football fans in Bangladesh can watch their much-loved sport from a device of their choice wherever they are in the country.  The high-speed connectivity and world-class services are fueling Bangladesh’s dynamic economic growth and empowering the lives of people.”

The milestone achievement was celebrated today at Banglalink’s Office in the presence of Kaan Terzioglu, CEO of VEON Group and Chairman, Banglalink, and Augie K Fabela II, Chairman Emeritus & Co-Founder, VEON, Banglalink’s parent company. Also present at the celebration event were Erik Aas, Chief Executive Officer, Banglalink and other top management members of the organization.

 “We introduced the World Cup live streaming facility on Toffee to offer a superior quality viewing experience to millions of football fans in Bangladesh,” says Erik Aas, Chief Executive Officer of Banglalink.  “The overwhelmingly positive response shows the popularity of the streaming service and the potential of Toffee.  We expect to see more views per match with the tournament reaching the more exciting quarter-final stage.”

About VEON
VEON is a global digital operator that currently provides converged connectivity and online services to over 200 million customers in seven dynamic markets. We are transforming people’s lives, empowering individuals, creating opportunities for greater digital inclusion and driving economic growth across countries that are home to more than 8% of the world’s population. Headquartered in Amsterdam, VEON is listed on NASDAQ and Euronext.

For more information visit: https://www.veon.com.

About Banglalink
Banglalink is one of the leading digital communications service providers in Bangladesh, working to unlock new opportunities for its customers as they navigate the digital world. Driven by the vision of transforming lives through technology, Banglalink also strives to transform into a future-ready service provider capable of catering to the demands of the new digital era. It is a subsidiary of VEON Ltd – a Nasdaq and Euronext listed connectivity provider headquartered in the Netherlands.

About Toffee
Toffee is Bangladesh’s premier video streaming app, launched in November 2019. Just in few months after its launch, Toffee became the #1 entertainment app in Bangladesh in Google Play Store to date! Unlike any other video streaming app in the market, Toffee is accessible to everyone from any network. The app offers a buffer-less viewing experience with easy and simple navigation. It can be enjoyed on Android smartphones, Android TVs, and iOS devices. Toffee currently has 80+ national and international Live TV channels, live sports and offers a large collection of video-on-demand and user generated content.

Disclaimer
This release contains “forward-looking statements,” as the phrase is defined in Section 27A of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Forward-looking statements are not historical facts, and include statements relating to, among other things, the digital entertainment services we provide. Forward-looking statements are inherently subject to risks and uncertainties, many of which VEON cannot predict with accuracy and some of which VEON might not even anticipate. The forward-looking statements contained in this release speak only as of the date of this release. VEON does not undertake to publicly update, except as required by U.S. federal securities laws, any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after such dates or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. There can be no assurance that the digital entertainment services referred to above will continue to maintain the viewership reported above.

Contact Information

• Group Communications Director

Marina Levina
PR@veon.com

• Julian Tanner

Julian.tanner@tuvapartners.com