Danish football rights, FIFA World Cup & public service proposition
19 June 2019
This week we’re zooming in on football as NENT Group and Discovery secured rights to Danish top football league Superligaen and with the FIFA Women’s World Cup in full swing. Additionally, the Swedish government presented its new public service proposition – suggesting a bigger focus on digital public service efforts.
Broadcast rights for Denmark’s highest football league, Superligaen, were recently renewed for the period 2021-2024. Ownership however unchanged, as NENT and Discovery defend their current shared right. National tier one sports, and Superligaen in particular, are highly commercially interesting rights. Mediavision follows the Nordic sports market closely. Recent findings show that approx. 10% of Danes 15-74 have an explicit viewing interest in the Danish Superligaen – on par with international majors such as Champions and Premier League, but at a much lower price. Mediavision is soon to release an analysis of the 32 biggest sports rights in the Nordics (consumer interest, price sensitivity, overall importance etc). Contact us for more details.
The FIFA Women’s World Cup kicked off on June 7th and is now in full swing in France. In terms of TV ratings, major sports events have always had a good impact, thereby counteracting an overall negative trend in traditional TV viewing. Ratings in Sweden and Norway are good; Sweden’s premiere game attained almost the same viewing as the opening four years ago (in Canada). Both then and now hosted by Swedish TV4. Norway’s premiere game (TV2) attained an approx. rating of 12%. Meanwhile, Denmark’s absence from the WC is reflected in low viewing (the game between Norway and France at a approx. 2%). Global interest in women’s football is high with several new viewing records.
Women’s FIFA WC approximate live ratings (%) in population, Denmark, Norway & Sweden
Swedish government presents public service proposition
On July 10th the Swedish government presented its public service proposition, consisting of new licensing conditions for the public service companies (Sveriges Radio, Sveriges Television & Sveriges Utbildningsradio). Comparing the Nordic countries, Norway has the highest public service revenue per individual (15-74 y/o), and Sweden the lowest (however, the largest country in terms of population). Much is status quo, with some exceptions. Online platforms are now to be included in the core business which points at an increased focus on digital public service efforts. Another change is that from 2023, digital content will be subject to the same overall conditions as broadcasting, which is an adjustment requiring that the fundamental law on freedom of expression is revised. Consequently, the Swedish Broadcasting Commission will be allowed to review content on digital platforms.
Public service revenue per individual (15-74 y/o) and country, Nordics (SEK)
Mediavision blogs:
Who will win the Nordic streaming war?
Competition on the Nordic streaming market is ramping up with several new services about to launch. Content investments are escalating and only partly offset by price increases. In the US, Netflix recently announced +13-18% on subscription fees.
Mediavision press releases:
10 million streaming subscriptions in the Nordics
Streaming video continues to grow rapidly in the Nordics, Mediavision concludes in its recently published analysis on the Nordic TV and video market. An increasing number of consumers subscribe […].
Industry news:
ITV’s head of comedy states that she will no longer commission shows with all-male writing teams. Saskia Schuster took action following an audit revealing a significant lack of women in scripted commissions.
Mediavision in the news:
Industry events
- IAB Sveriges seminarium Online Video: June, 19, Stockholm, Sweden
*Events where Mediavision will be presenting