Viaplay’s SVP of scripted content Camilla Rydbacken departs

Furia

Viaplay’s SVP of scripted content, Camilla Rydbacken, has become the latest exec to leave the embattled streamer.

Rydbacken joined the company, then known as MTG, in 2017 as its VP of Nordic scripted content, subsequently being upped to SVP in 2022.

She had been overseeing a vast pipeline of Nordic dramas for the streamer such as Ronja and The Robber’s Daughter, with 70 shows set up last year.

Camilla Rydbacken

Other series included Danish crime drama rom, Norwegian thriller Furia and Swedish drama Threesome, with around another 70 in the works for 2023.

However, Viaplay has been hit by shifting economic headwinds that saw the Nordic operator impacted by the effects of the cost-of-living crisis and increased churn following price rises.

It downgraded its outlook in June and has been cost cutting over the summer, although it is unclear how deeply the programming pipeline will be affect.

Former CEO Anders Jensen was replaced by Jorgen Madsen Lindemann in May with a flurry of senior exec departures following, including chief commercial officer Filippa Wallestam and factual boss Nicholas Hadley-Kamptz.

Around 25% of the workforce is being cut, while the streamer is also pulling out of the US, the UK and Poland as it looks to stabilise.

Viaplay’s share price has plummeted more than 80% over the past six months, with Canal+ and Czech investment outfit PPF Group among those taking stakes in the beleaguered company as it attempts to right the ship.

Rydbacken’s exit was first reported by Nordic trade title Dagens Media.