The dramas of the Nordic public service broadcasters increase, but the scripted commissioners feel the heat in the middle of several challenges of the market.
While the investment falls elsewhere in the world and local budgets are increasingly extended, the need to rotate to attract young viewers and better contact other audiences has strengthened at new levels, according to a panel of commissioners today in the MIA market in Italy.
“There are the fewer commissioners who order fewer series,” said Johanna Gårdare, head of the drama in SVT in Sweden.
It appeared on the panel alongside NRK counterparts in Norway, Yle in Finland and Dr in Denmark on the “The Nordic Blueprint” panel.
This has been implemented following a report in July of the AMPERE analysis which showed that public service broadcasters in the Nordic regions have ordered 67 series scripted in the first quarter of 2025 – growth of 24% in annual shift and the highest total recorded to date for a quarter. In comparison, global commissioning dropped by 15% during the same period.
Despite this, the panelists said that PSBs faced unique challenges in the era of global streaming competition.
“We are very fortune people because we have money in advance by taxpayers in advance, but at the same time, we are disputed because the young audience is no longer going on our platforms,” said Marianne Furevold-Boland, chief of the drama in NRK in Norway.
PSBs must adopt marketing in a way that is not “natural” to fight against the domination of platforms such as YouTube and bring these audiences, she added. Dramas such as NRK Requiem for SelinaInspired by the history of the first Norway fashion blogger, would also bring them closer to these adolescents and young adults that are difficult to reach, said Furevolt-Boland.
Henriette Marienlund, chief of drama at DR, said that juggling the pressures of a large audience was complicated. “The public wants our quality, stimulating and entertaining content from us,” she said. “Other platforms have a different modus operandi, but they require more of our content.”
Marienlund revealed a clip of the drama to come Uniforms (The uniform), a series of Miso films on the consequences of a trainee policeman who shoots a suspect. “We hope it will attract people in their twenties, perhaps also adolescents,” she said.
Jarmo Lampela, responsible for the drama in Yle in Finland, also appeared on the panel, which noted that the Finnish market had been considerably disputed with cuts in the cultural sector. It puts pressure on Yle to take over, even thought that the Finnish government in fact had millions of euros added to its budget in the coming years.
“Even if Yle is stable, we cannot feed the whole industry,” said Lampela. “The climate was quite heavy because the savings that were necessary. The whole cultural sector has been faced with major discounts. ”
In the same vein, the Gårdare of Sweden said that there was a general slowdown in scripted orders, which harms the Swedish market and makes risky commissioning more difficult.
“We find it difficult to maintain the renewal of the content, so how can you allow yourself or even dare to bet on what is not safe horses? This is understandable but it is a problem, because production companies are very complaint and reactive to what the commissioners want. We need more players on the market, so I welcome more competition.”
Gårdare unveiled a clip of the vampire horror drama recently launched The ferry (Blood cruise), which takes place on a cruise ship and features Tuppence Middleton, Björn Bengtsson, Jessica Grabowsky, Marika Lagercrantz and by making her Kolbjörn Skarsgård debut.
“We need relevance, relevance, relevance,” she said. I have so many comfortable crimes and that’s what’s going on on this market. Originality is what we want, which is easy to say but difficult to achieve. [Blood Cruise] Does that – if you can combine the local, like people who go to these teams or the fantastic coastal line, with a more universal theme that is recognizable, you are on something. “”
She also noted the SVT and the Disney + political comedy drama Whiskey on the rocks had unexpectedly attracted young audiences, who normally seek scriptwriters at a very short.
After held a survey of viewers after its broadcast, certain trends were revealed. “It was six 45 minutes and it really attracted young people,” she said. “We have not targeted it, but this is the case. They said they appreciated that it was based on a true story, the Russian submarine which failed in the Swedish archipelago in the 1980s, and it was humorous. They also appreciated the Russian elements. I do not know what it means, but that reflects society right now.”
MIA started yesterday in Rome and ends this week, with Italian producers rubbing their shoulders with international executives. He comes little in front of the Rome Film Festival, which takes place from October 15 to 26.
