"As co-founder and part-owner of TV 2 through more than 20 years, Egmont has always been concerned with the long-term development of TV 2. As TV is a key element in our strategy, it was an obvious choice for us to purchase. Today, Egmont makes a significant strategic leap towards more TV and more live pictures in our business" said Steffen Kragh, CEO of Egmont (pictured) in a statement.
Under the Copenhagen-based media concern's full ownership, TV2 will continue to focus on news, sports and entertainment, confirmed Kragh. "This is a natural consequence of the fact that 7 in 10 Norwegians choose TV2 as their media outlet for these types of content on TV and online every day," he noted. To reassure some political parties in Norway that viewed with reticence the full ownership of Norway's only commercial public service broadcaster by a foreign group, Kragh stressed that the Egmont-owned TV2 will continue to support Norwegian productions and operate as a general broadcaster based in Bergen.
In 2010 TV 2 had the most profitable annual result and the group's various TV channels had a viewing share of the Norwegian market of 26.7%. TV2 Drama's series Dag produced by Kamerakameratene was a major audience success with 509,000 viewers for its premiere in 2010. A third season is in the making. Pil Gundelach Brandstrup, programme director TV2, says that TV2 will continue to invest in Norwegian TV drama and to be ‘the largest buyer of locally-produced TV drama'.