Viaplay rejigs in Sweden with chief exec appointment

Viaplay has reshuffled its senior staff in Sweden by re-hiring Jonas Karlén to run its operations in the country.

Karlén becomes executive vice president and chief exec at Viaplay Group Sweden, taking on the remit previously shared by Johan Johansson and Christian Albeck.

They will now focus fully on their respective roles, Johansson as exec vice president and group CFO and Albeck as exec vice president of content acquisition.

Karlén previously worked as chief exec of Viaplay and Viasat, and also headed up online Nordic bookstore Adlibris and food delivery service Linas Matkasse.

Jørgen Madsen Lindemann, Viaplay Group president and chief exec, said: “Jonas combines strong operational and strategic leadership with broad industry experience, and a deep understanding of our business and audience in Sweden.

“His background will be highly valuable as we continue to focus on relevant local content, strong commercial execution and sustainable growth.”

Karlén added that he would “strengthen our streaming service and our well-established TV and radio operations in Sweden” and “sharpen” its local offering.

Viaplay has been overhauling its operations in recent years following a severe financial downturn in 2023 which saw the departure of then chief exec and driver of its ambitious international D2C push Anders Jensen.  

Successor Jørgen Madsen Lindemann later confirmed Viaplay would be pulling out of the UK and US markets along with most of its other international territories, and selling its stake in Premier Sports.