A year after signaling its intention to slowly deploy in the U.S., Nordic streaming company Viaplay is rolling out a $5.99-a-month subscription service direct-to-consumer here, starting Wednesday.
Known for "Nordic Noir" content including bleak crime-thriller series Trom and No Time to Mourn, Viaplay includes more than 1,500 titles. It's Netflix's biggest rival in the Nordics.
Billing its service as the destination for "premium Scandinavian storytelling," Viaplay has been available in the U.S. since December 2021 as an integrated add-on service for Comcast Xfinity TV subscribers.
And in December, the Stockholm-based Viaplay announced that its streaming service would be available to Roku Channel users as a channel add-on starting in "early 2023."
With Wednesday's announcement, "thousands of hours of curated Nordic content" is now available direct-to-consumer via iOS and Android mobile devices; Amazon Fire TV, Android TV/Google TV and Apple TV connected TV gadgets; as well as popular web browsers.
Viaplay will further expand into Canada on March 7.
Those in the U.S. can sign up here for a free seven-day trial of the service.
As of the end of 2022, Viaplay touted 7.3 million subscribers globally, with 37% of them coming from outside the Nordics.
Viaplay series available exclusively on the platform include Danish crime drama Trom starring Ulrich Thomsen (The Blacklist, Banshee); Norwegian thriller Furia and acclaimed Swedish drama Threesome, co-starring Lucien Laviscount (Emily in Paris).
Viaplay’s programming lineup also includes internationally acclaimed titles such A Man Called Ove (recently remade with Tom Hanks); Academy Award-winning dark comedy Another Round starring Mads Mikkelsen (Casino Royale); and psychological thriller Partisan (a Best Series winner at Canneseries).
Also included are award-winning comedy-drama series Love Me, Season 1-2 and Pernille (seasons 1-3); young adult series Delete Me; historical drama The Emigrants; and financial drama Exit, one of Norway’s most streamed series.
All three films from the The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo trilogy are also streamable.
