Viaplay has announced their intention to enter the European market. We've looked closely at their streaming service.

The Scandinavian streaming service Viaplay is expanding soon to the Netherlands, Britain, Canada, Switzerland, Austria and Germany. There is still no definite start date for this, but Dutch viewers will be able to access the site in 2022 and by the second half of 2022 Britain will join in.

In 2023, Viaplay will probably take over the four other markets. So far, Viaplay only has viewers in Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia. In addition, Viaplay also services the audience in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Iceland.

Viaplay, which was founded in 2011, offers monthly subscriptions with children's programming and Hollywood blockbusters. However, there are now many services that offer this choice, so Viacom will have to compete with them.

Viaplay concentrates on high-quality Nordic films, which often achieve international successes. Some of these productions are ORIGINAL productions, which are primarily produced in the countries Viaplay services (Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland).

As soon as a user downloads a movie onto their laptop, PC, tablet, smartphone or console, they are given 30 days to use it; once they have started watching the movie, they must finish it within the next 48 hours. This service does not require an active subscription.

The streaming service belongs to the Nordic Entertainment Group, which also operates a satellite platform and offers both its own channels as well as those of third parties. The Nent-Group has restructured its film production company in Viaplay Studios unbenannt. Along with this, the group also led the production companies Brain Academy and Nice Drama together.

Some of the films in these groups include well-known titles such as "Midnight Sun," "The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared," "The Perfect Patient" or the Swedish series "Max Anger - With One Eye Open." Original productions created by this group include "Hilma" directed by Oscar-nominated director Lasse Hallström and the series "The Box" written and produced by Adi Hasak.

It's doubtful that things will look different in Germany. Whether they can successfully compete against Disney+ or Netflix remains to be seen.

It's still not clear how much Viaplay will cost in Germany or the other European countries, especially since various deals and collaborations with existing pay TV and streaming providers can happen.

So zum Beispiel bei den meisten Diensten, die monatlich regelmäßig kostenlos angeboten werden. The original prices can at least give a rough estimation of the subscription costs: for example, with most services that are offered free monthly.

Das Film- und TV-Abo: Etwa 89 Dkr. (entspricht etwa 12 Euro im Monat) Sportpaket: 269 Dkr. (entspricht etwa 36 Euro im Monat) Viaplay Gesamtpaket (mit Sport-, Film- und TV-Inhalten): 299 Dkr. (entspricht 40 Euro im Monat) Viaplay Ultimate Fighting (ausschließlich UFC und Boxen): 199 Dkr. (27 Euro pro Monat)

To enable subscribers to access their content on Viaplay, they need at least one of the following devices:

There are various ways to view websites on a computer, with a browser for viewing over the internet, and also an app for Windows 10 and the Mac which can be downloaded. Via the app on an iPhone or iPad, one can also view websites on Apple TV and Google Chromecast. One can also play games on consoles like Xbox One and Playstation 4 using voice commands.

Do you want to access German or foreign TV channels outside of Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland, you have to use a Virtual Private Network (VPN) for the moment in order to ensure a smooth viewing experience.