Ira Gladnikoff Moves Up to Head of Viaplay

Ira Gladnikoff, who had been serving as chief commercial officer at Viaplay, has been elevated to head of the Nordic streaming service.

Gladnikoff is replacing Jonas Karlén, who is leaving the company after joining MTG in 2008 and leading Viaplay since 2015. Since being hired by MTG in 2015, Gladnikoff has helped develop Viaplay into the leading streaming service in the Nordic region. Her new position is effective immediately.

Anders Jensen, MTG’s executive VP, chairman of the Nordic Entertainment Management Board and MTG Sweden’s CEO, commented: “We wish Jonas well in his new ventures and thank him for his nine years at MTG and leading the successful development of Viaplay. It is great that we have a ready-made successor in Ira, who has extensive experience in the online video entertainment space and, as CCO of Viaplay, has been responsible for so much of Viaplay’s commercial success.

“Viaplay is a fantastic entertainment product created by a hugely talented team that works very closely with our other Nordic entertainment businesses and family of brands—Viasat, Viasport, Viafree and Viareal. MTG is unique in combining the best of linear and on-demand entertainment so that everyone can watch their favorite shows whenever and wherever they want.”

Karlén stated: “It has been an amazing experience for me to lead the Viaplay team that has focused relentlessly on constantly developing the content offering and user experience, making Viaplay the leading Nordic streaming service. I have loved every minute and I will continue to be a huge Viaplay fan.”

Gladnikoff added: “Viaplay is a passion of mine and I couldn’t be more excited about the opportunity to lead such a great team. We provide our subscribers with a more varied streamed content experience than any other service, and there are so many opportunities to work with our fellow MTG Nordic entertainment brands to deliver even more integrated and engaging entertainment experiences—this is just the beginning.”