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Scandinavian streaming service Viaplay is coming to Amazon’s Prime Video Channels in the U.K., starting on Tuesday.

The news comes after Viaplay closed its own app and direct-to-consumer streaming service in the U.K. in May, instead focusing its international distribution strategy “on building growth via partnerships and on bringing the best of Nordic and European storytelling to partnering aggregators and streamers around the world.” The live sports offerings previously available on Viaplay are now available on sports service Premier Sports.

“Viaplay Content Distribution will launch the Viaplay channel as an add-on subscription on Prime Video via Prime Video Channels,” the company said on Monday. “

Viaplay’s U.K. content focuses on films and series from the Nordic region, including crime and other dramas, young adult series, and documentaries. “Subscribers will have immediate access to thousands of hours of premium Nordic and European content,” Viaplay said.

“Given the...

Valter Skarsgård steps into the skates of hockey legend Börje Salming as the sports icon’s story is told through Börje: The Journey of a Legend. Inspired by real events, the Viaplay drama series takes viewers back in time to the 1970s, chronicling Salming’s evolution from an outcast youngster living in the mining town of Kiruna, Sweden to realizing his dreams of going pro. He spent 16 years playing for the Toronto Maple Leafs and was the first European inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. Salming blazed a trail all his own and showed what was possible for other Europeans with similar aspirations. Skarsgård worked with Salming before his tragic passing to Als in November 2022 to make sure he played the role with genuine authenticity. Here the actor opens up about taking on the role and how he received emotional support from his famous family. Being from Sweden and hearing Börje’s story,...

Jason Priestley has been able to embrace his love of hockey through his recent projects including Börje: The Journey of a Legend. The six-episode biopic series on Viaplay centers on the late Hall of Famer Börje Salming (Valter Skarsgård) and his fish-out-of-water journey. He went from small-town Sweden to playing for the Toronto Maple Leafs with the show chronicling the physical and personal struggles he faced. If you’re mourning the loss of Winning Time and captivated by the drama of the Stanley Cup, then this show is for you. Priestley took on the role of respected talent scout Gerry McNamara, who brought Salming over and put the gears in motion for what was to come. The 54-year-old Canadian also directed a documentary called Offside: The Harold Ballard Story on the polarizing team owner Harold Ballard, who in Börje is played by A.C. Peterson. Here Priestley talks about playing McNamara,...

In a TV sports world filled with athletes, Swedish director Amir Chamdin sees Borje Salming — the late Hall of Fame defenseman who paved the way for Europeans into the National Hockey League when he joined the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1973 — as the perfect role model worthy of a pedestal for his humility and devotion to family.

“I saw this tough guy. In fact, he’s the most humble guy I ever met. He’s a sweetheart … he’s a king in how he treated people,” Chamdin tells The Hollywood Reporter of first meeting Salming in a Stockholm café to discuss making Borje: The Journey of a Legend, a six-part drama for Scandinavian streamer Viaplay that will bow May 2 in the U.S. after premieres in Sweden and Canada.

Valter Skarsgård plays Salming as first a struggling pro hockey player in small town Sweden before he was discovered by legendary scout Gerry McNamara,...

Viaplay’s streaming service — specializing in award-winning Scandinavian series and films — is now available as an add-on subscription on Amazon’s Prime Video Channels in the United States.

Starting Wednesday, Prime members in the U.S. will be able to sign up for Viaplay for $5.99 per month (with a seven-day free trial available for eligible customers) through Prime Video Channels.

In February, Viaplay shut down its own app and direct-to-consumer streaming service in the U.S. and Canada, and the company has now focused its international distribution strategy in building growth via partnerships. Viaplay is already available in North America through partner platforms such as Comcast Xfinity, the Roku Channel and Xumo.

Viaplay said its U.S. content offering centers on “the Nordic region’s high-quality and psychologically penetrating series and films, from atmospheric and suspenseful crime dramas and provocative and stylish young-adult series to award-winning dramas and riveting documentaries.

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.

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.

The Nordic region’s largest streamer, Viaplay, has debuted in Canada, continuing its expansion into North America after landing in the U.S. on Feb. 22.

The direct-to-consumer platform touts itself as the premiere platform for Nordic Noir, the term used to describe the growing subgenre of Scandinavian crime dramas, thrillers, dark comedies and YA offerings.

Available in every Nordic and Baltic country, Viaplay has been gaining ground over the past several months, expanding across Europe, U.K. and Australia. In February, it reported an 83% rise year-over-year in streaming subscribers, a number that is expected to swell with the North American launches.

At launch, Viaplay is available at a rate of Cad$6.99 ($5.13) monthly after a free seven-day trial. A subscription includes the exclusive Canadian premieres of more than 50 premium series and films throughout 2023. Titles include biopic series “The Dreamer – Becoming Karen Blixen,” starring Connie Nielsen; Berlinale selection “The Architect”; and...

Former Toronto Maple Leafs star Börje Salming has died at the age of 71, the team has confirmed.

In a statement Thursday, Toronto Maple Leafs president and alternate governor Brendan Shanahan said the organization is mourning the loss of Salming.

“Börje was a pioneer of the game and an icon with an unbreakable spirit and unquestioned toughness,” Shanahan said in the statement. “He helped open the door for Europeans in the NHL and defined himself through his play on the ice and through his contributions to the community.”

Read more: Toronto Maple Leafs great Borje Salming diagnosed with Als

Shanahan said Salming joined the team 50 years ago, adding that he will “forever be a part of our hockey family.”

“We extend our deepest condolences to his wife, Pia, his children Theresa, Anders, Rasmus, Bianca, Lisa and Sarah and brother Stieg,” he said.

Salming signed with the Leafs as a free agent...

The Nordic giant's latest original will star Valter Skarsgård in the lead role. Nent Group is ready to launch a new original production, a biopic series about Sweden's greatest-ever ice hockey player, Börje Salming. The English-language show, created and directed by Amir Chamdin (the series Partisan), will star Valter Skarsgård in the leading role. The series, penned by Martin Bengtsson, will follow Salming's trailblazing journey from his humble roots north of the Arctic Circle to become an NHL legend. The first Swedish player inducted into the prestigious Hockey Hall of Fame, Börje Salming broke numerous records, captured the hearts of millions of fans and paved the way for countless Europeans to forge careers in the NHL, the world's best ice hockey league. In detail, Salming played over 1,100 games for the Toronto Maple Leafs across 16 seasons (1973-1989), notching 148 goals and 620 assists, and in 2017...