Viaplay Group’s Camilla Rydbacken: “The global demand for Nordic content is one of the drivers behind our expansion”

Rydbacken is Viaplay’s heavyweight content executive, overseeing among other things, the streaming service’s slate of 70 Original films and series across 11 territories.

She joined the group in 2017 (at the time under the MTG label), and widened her brief from VP Nordic Scripted Content to SVP Scripted Content, a position she has held since March. She answered our questions by email.

Since you joined Viaplay in 2017, Viaplay has had an exponential curve in scripted content commissioning - from 15 originals in 2018 to 70 in 2022. How have you adapted on an organisational standpoint?
Camilla Rydbacken: Viaplay is today available in 11 direct-to-consumer markets and will launch in the US and Canada in the first quarter of next year. As we reach more viewers around the world and produce more of our own content than ever before, our in-house team has grown too. Today, we are 20+ people working on the content side of the scripted team across all our markets.

In 2022 at least 70 Viaplay Originals are set to premiere. So far this year, what have been your most successful Nordic films and series?
CR: We have had a very strong year in terms of our content, but I will try my best to keep it as short as possible! Some of our successful recent Danish series are the young adult show Boys, which won Best Series at the Series Awards in Aarhus; The Dreamer-Becoming Karen Blixen starring Connie Nielsen; and Lars von Trier’s The Kingdom Exodus.

From our Norwegian series, I really want to lift Made in Oslo, the first Norwegian drama ever to be environmentally certified, and the acclaimed dark comedy Below. We’ve created the first-ever Faroese drama, TROM, and the Swedish series Honour is back with its third season; it has a strong fan base and it is remarkable how well it has performed.

Finally, the feature film Hilma, based on the life of Hilma af Klint, written and directed by double Oscar-nominee Lasse Hallström, premiered one week ago on Viaplay and has so far performed very well.

What is your editorial line today, across film and series, local and English-speaking?
CR: Our heart always beats a little extra for Nordic noir! In addition, high-quality drama/dramedy tends to find an appreciative audience on Viaplay. We are increasingly interested in feature films. To date, we have five films that have premiered, with two more coming in the next month, and we have many more in the production pipeline.

English-language productions are increasingly important for us as Viaplay reaches new markets. But it’s important to say that series and films in any language can now travel the world like never before.

Viaplay's model of investment in content is threefold - pre-buys, co-productions, one off global right deals. Do you see more co-pros happening today to lower your risks in challenging times?
CR: We will continue to develop and deliver our own productions, and we also take a positive view on partnering with other organisations for co-productions. Partly because it widens our content slate and boosts diversity, and partly because we think it makes financial sense.

How do you make sure you are the preferred partner to Nordic producers/content creators at a time of heated competition from other streamers and broadcasters?
CR: The fact that everyone is looking for the next big thing, both in terms of talent on-screen and behind the camera, is no secret. We are the leading content producer in the Nordic region and no-one produces as many Nordic stories as we do, and this position makes us attractive.

But so does our openness to new talents. We work with famous names like Lasse Hallström and Lars von Trier, and at the same time we often support to new talents. For example, we worked with the Swedish actress and artist Amy Deasismont in creating her first-ever series, Thunder in My Heart, which was nominated for Best Drama at the Kristallen awards. And above all, I believe that our company’s standpoint and values is shown throughout our content, which also helps us attract great talent.

In the Nordics, what has been the effects of the crisis with Create Denmark/the Danish Producers Association on your Danish output, and how was your balance of commissioning in 2022 across the five Nordic territories?
CR: We have recently extended our temporary agreement with Create Denmark and Producentforeningen until the end of June 2023, which means we are able to resume production of Danish films and series.

Together with our partners, we are committed to finding a long-term, sustainable solution and we will continue our constructive dialogue. At the same time, there are additional challenges in the Danish media market, particularly the proposed streaming levy, which require constructive solutions.

Our Nordic commissioning balance varies, as we always try to find the best stories to tell, rather than setting artificial targets. We have a lot of content from Sweden, Denmark and Norway to look forward to that has been announced so far this year. To take Norway as an example, I’m very excited about our slate of recently commissioned series and films, including the Viaplay Film trilogy Sex Dreams Love with celebrated director Dag Johan Haugerud, and the Viaplay Series My Fault, based on the bestselling autobiography by renowned Norwegian politician and former minister Abid Raja.

How is Viaplay’s expanding global footprint impacting the share of Nordic scripted content?
CR: We are indeed expanding globally, and we are producing more content in all our international markets, but our Nordic content slate is expanding too. In fact, the global demand for Nordic content is one of the drivers behind our expansion, which makes this content a strategic priority for us. We have a strong belief that being local at heart but global in mind makes our stories travel even further, which is another reason for us to continue to find new -and develop more - Nordic content.

In Viaplay’s last Q3 financial statement, CEO Anders Jensen announced a weaker than expected growth in Nordic subscriptions, and savings coming up for 2023. Do you expect cuts in the scripted-space?
CR: Our film and series content, together with our sports, is what makes Viaplay stand out and attract viewers in all our markets. Given the global economic situation, inflation and the strength of the US dollar, we need to adjust our outlook, but we will continue to invest in the storytelling that has made us famous. Our scripted slate for 2023 looks really strong in all our markets.

Looking at 2023, how many originals will premiere and could you cite some of the most anticipated films and series?
CR: We have so much great content coming up, both in the Nordics and internationally. To name a few examples, already in December this year, we will premiere our first-ever Norwegian Viaplay film, the World War II drama Gold Run, based on the extraordinary true story of a group of unlikely resistance fighters who smuggled Norway's gold reserves out of the country ahead of invading Nazi forces.

In 2023, we have our highly-anticipated adaptation of Astrid Lindgren’s Ronja the Robber's Daughter premiering as a major Viaplay Series. Ronja really shows our ambitions with Nordic stories, and that we are not slowing down.

In addition, we will finally premiere the international ecological thriller The Swarm, and our first local scripted shows in Poland and the Netherlands, including the Polish series Murderesses.