Viaplay Launching On Prime Video Channels After Shutting Down U.S. Streaming App

Jesse Whittock
·2 min read

Viaplay shut its direct-to-consumer service in February, but the Scandi streamer is still active in the U.S.

The platform has struck a deal to launch a subscription channel on Prime Video Channels, offering originals such as Börje – The Journey of a Legend, Furia and Gold Run.

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The channel launches on Prime Video Channels today, offering access to Viaplay for $5.99 a month, with a free seven-day trial.

The development comes after Viaplay closed its subscription streaming app in North America after a turbulent 2023 in which the Sweden-based company made 25% of its staff redundant and restructured around a package of sports rights and unscripted content. Expensive scripted shows were axed and sold, and the streamer has since pulled out of North America and the UK.

Exits from the Baltics and Poland are also coming, with Group President and CEO Jørgen Madsen Lindemann telling shareholders the company “will be different” in its annual report last month.

However, the U.S. channel will still offer screening a slate of scripted shows such as hockey drama Börje – The Journey of a Legend, which is about NHL icon Börje Salming and stars Valter Skarsgård and Jason Priestley (Beverly Hills, 90210). It launches early May. Other upcoming titles include season two of action thriller Furia, World War II feature film Gold Run and Murderesses, an adaptation of Katarzyna Bonda’s true-crime book following a police officer uncovering treacherous family secrets.

These will soon join the likes of Lars Mikkelsen starrer Face to Face, intense detective series Fenris, young adult series Threesome and Delete Me, International Emmy-nominated drama The Dreamer — Becoming Karen Blixen and docs such as The Most Remote Restaurant in the World.

Since shutting its app in Canada and the U.S., Viaplay has focused on international distribution through partnerships. In the U.S., it is already available on Xfinity, Xumo and The Roku Channel, and we understand a deal in Canada is close.

“We’re thrilled to increase the Viaplay subscription channel’s distribution in the United States,” said
Vanda Rapti, Viaplay Group, Viaplay Select & Viaplay Content Distribution EVP. “This shows the universal appeal of high-quality Nordic and European content and will make these titles more accessible to viewers across the United States than ever before, including Viaplay’s record-setting Swedish-English drama series Börje – The Journey of a Legend coming May 2.

“Nordic Noir is truly just the beginning, as Viaplay offers a broad content line-up from thrilling crime dramas and relatable character-focused dramedies to fascinating true stories and gripping documentaries.”

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