Type of site | Streaming service |
---|---|
Predecessor(s) | Viasat On Demand |
Area served | |
Owner | Viaplay Group |
URL | viaplay |
Launched |
|
Viaplay is a Swedish video streaming service owned by Viaplay Group. [1]
Originally owned by Modern Times Group, it was launched in May 2007 as Viasat On Demand. [2] It was rebranded as Viaplay in 2011. [2] Viaplay released its first original fiction title, Swedish Dicks , in 2016. [3] As of 2021 [update] it was available in Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, and Sweden. [4] [5] Capitalizing on the popularity of Nordic noir titles, the service rolled out plans to expand to Ireland, the Netherlands and UK in November 2022, and Austria, Canada, Germany, Switzerland and the US by 2023. [4] [5] [6] [7] Viaplay launched in the United States ahead of the previously planned schedule, initially exclusively to Comcast customers, with the intention to launch a direct-to-consumer platform later. [8]
As the parent company Viaplay Group holds extensive sports rights in multiple markets, Viaplay provides sports broadcasts in most countries where it operates.
In May 2022, Viaplay announced the organisation had added the National Hockey League and Poland-based MMA promotion KSW to its UK offering. [9] In July 2022, Viaplay Group acquired U.K.-based pay TV channel operator, Premier Sports, and rebranded it under the Viaplay name by 1 November 2022. [10] [11]
On 20 July 2023, it was announced that Viaplay would lay off 25% of staff while pursuing a new strategy to focus on its core Nordic, Netherlands and Viaplay Select operations. [12] The new focus means that Viaplay will completely exit from its Baltic markets, and discontinue its low tier non-sports offering in each of its remaining international markets, including the United States and United Kingdom, in order to focus on its sports offering and the sale of non-sports content through its Viaplay Select business.
In 2024, Viaplay left the UK and be rebranded back to Premier Sports, its former name until 2022. [13] Viaplay also left the US, Canada and Baltic markets in the beginning of 2024 as part of their new strategy.
Country/Territory | Launch date | Shutdown date |
---|---|---|
Denmark | May 2007 | |
Finland | ||
Norway | ||
Sweden | ||
Iceland | 1 April 2020 [14] | |
Estonia | 28 July 2016 (original) [15] 9 March 2021 (relaunch) [16] | 19 September 2018 (original) [17] 22 March 2024 (relaunch) [18] [19] |
Latvia | ||
Lithuania | ||
Poland | 3 August 2021 [20] | TBA 2025 [18] [21] |
Netherlands | 1 March 2022 [22] | |
United Kingdom | 1 November 2022 [23] | 22 May 2024 [24] [25] |
Australia (via SBS On Demand) | 2 November 2022 [26] | |
Austria (via Canal+) | 26 January 2023 [27] | |
United States | 22 February 2023 [28] | 29 February 2024 [29] |
Canada | 7 March 2023 [28] | 28 February 2024 [29] |
Germany (via Magenta TV and Amazon Prime Video) | 19 April 2023 [30] 22 October 2024 [31] | |
Switzerland (via Oneplus) | 1 September 2023 [32] |
Modern Times Group (MTG) is a digital entertainment company based in Stockholm, Sweden. It formed from the media holdings of investment company Kinnevik, which in 1997 was distributed to the company stockholders. It is a strategic and operational investment holding company, managing a portfolio including gaming companies InnoGames, Ninja Kiwi and Kongregate, and digital network company Zoomin.TV.
Viasat was a satellite and pay television brand, co-owned by the Swedish media group Viaplay Group in the Nordic countries, Antenna Group in Hungary, and by Viasat World internationally. Founded in Sweden in 1991, Viasat has previously been owned by Modern Times Group. The channels of both companies were broadcast from London.
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Viaplay Xtra was a British sports television channel operated and owned by Viaplay Group.
Viaplay Group AB, formerly known as Nordic Entertainment Group AB, is a Swedish media and entertainment company headquartered in Stockholm.
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The Box is a Swedish supernatural psychological thriller television series created by Adi Hasak for the Nordic Entertainment Group and first released on 28 November 2021 on Viaplay.
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