Seven Nordic broadcasters’ drama bosses talk budgets and strategy

All is not noir in the Nordic region. Yes, the drama boom is definitely behind us.
All broadcasters and platforms are affected by the pressure of the macro environment and rising content costs, pushing streamers such as Disney+ or Viaplay to squeeze drama budgets and media groups - public and private - to implement cutbacks across their heavy operations.

But the good news is that the traditional public service and commercial broadcasters are more inventive than ever in forging alliances to keep on delivering high-end quality drama for their viewers. After the Scandi-Alliance (see our story here - TV2 Denmark, TV2 Norway and TV4 Sweden join forces in historical Scandi Alliance launched last month, another new major partnership between Nordic and European pubcasters is about to be unveiled at press time. Furthermore, as explained here under by key Nordic TV commissioners, drama investments will remain stable in 2024, although editorial lines will shift slightly or refocus on the national core viewership.

We have asked seven Nordic heads of drama to answer the following three questions:
1/ What is your current drama budget and prospects for 2024?
2/ What is your strategy to remain competitive?
3/ What do you think the industry should/could do to stay strong in these challenging times?


Skarphéðinn Guðmundsson, Head of TV-Programme Director at RÚV, Iceland

1/ The budget for local drama investments has been up to 1/3 of our total budget and we will try to maintain this share as long as it makes financial sense to allocate public funding to such increasingly costly projects as original dramas.

Let's not forget that there is no decrease in interest when it comes to local drama. At least not in Iceland. The main challenges have more to do with increasing costs and lack of international financing and distribution. So before we cave in and lower our drama investments, we’d rather approach such a challenge as an opportunity to change our policy by allocating more funds to cheaper dramas mainly targeting our local audience. We have indeed started to experiment with such projects with promising results.

Being an optimist and a firm believer in local productions and international hunger - especially amongst the YA-for something completely different, I’d like to believe that this type of drama could eventually have an international appeal.

2/ To be original and unpredictable while at the same time trying to be adaptable.

3/ The industry could be open and courageous and trust audience’s interest and relentless search for original and unpredictable stories, regardless of their origins and language.

Jarmo Lampela, Head of Drama, Yle, Finland

1/ 2024 should stay at a normal level for Yle drama. Fiction funding in any case is always reviewed if there are changes at Yle's overall funding. Yle strives to keep the drama offering at the same level, as it is important for our streamer Yle Areena’s clientele and for the channels. Audience relations remain good thanks to a number of familiar fiction titles. But industry trends always affect our group as an operator.

2/ Our streaming service Yle Areena allows us to create dramas of different length, aimed at small audiences, so we strive to respond to changes in viewers’ habits and offer surprising content.

3/ I believe that new forms of cooperation will emerge quickly. The film and TV industry is agile and inventive.

Anna Croneman, Head of Drama, SVT, Sweden

1/ Our current drama budget is the same as it ever was-around €27 million for series and €6 million for feature films. It has remains relatively stable thanks to the way we are financed [via a household levy]. But next charter is coming up so it can all change. That said, our series deliver both in numbers and in reach. We're cutting everything BUT the content budget.

2/ Our strategy is to offer Swedish producers a steady partnership, making exciting and relevant series in sync with our new editorial strategy. We have a large number of series entering production right now which is exciting.

3/ In the last couple of years, a huge amount of content was produced, but we can question under which circumstances, and at what level of quality? As public funders, we have to reflect on the best ways to have a more sustainable and creative local and Nordic industry.


Marianne Furevold-Boland, Head of Drama, NRK, Norway

1/ I can only speak in terms of drama investments (Fredrik Luihn handles drama acquisitions) and in that area, we invest approximately NOK 300 million (€26m) each year, a sum which of course may vary slightly from year to year. The drama department - like all NRK departments - must always adhere to the present financial circumstances.

That said, NRK has a mission to create content that reflects the Norwegian population, nurtures room for reflection and dialogue, strengthens and upholds the democracy and creates significant communal experience. And good drama series can achieve just that.

Therefore, it is important for NRK to have a dynamic and relevant drama offering for our audience. Even though the industry is experiencing uncertainty regarding drama orders from the various platforms at the moment, NRK’s focus will still be on having a diverse and vivid drama repertoire. We want to be a predictable partner for the industry. NRK will not cease to develop, produce, or invest in drama for our audience.

2/ We need to be the best partner, to allow the talents to come to us with their stories. And we must be good at finding, securing, and elevating the projects so that the audience can experience our content as being entertaining, significant and something they cannot miss out on.

3/ In changing and challenging times, it’s important for us have a good and constructive dialogue with the industry. We now have a momentum to collectively consider what stories we want to create, production procedures, and how we can ensure quality at every stage of the production process. We’ve had some good years where we have further professionalized and become very skilled. Now we need to take the experience and learnings we have gained, and look at even more efficient and sustainable production methods and storytelling. We need to collaborate even further.

Henriette Marienlund, Head of Drama and Development, DR, Denmark

1/ We don’t publish our finances in DR, and this applies to both the total drama budget and acquisitions. However, I can say that our budget is fairly stable as we are funded by levies. The income that comes from funds, MGs and other sources has fallen slightly, and we are compensating for this by commissioning shorter formats.

Although our finances are stable in our drama department, our livelihood is smaller than before. This is primarily due to the rising costs of drama production, which have affected the market both in Denmark and internationally. Concretely, this means that we produce slightly fewer series, and the seasons will be shorter. We also work with family fiction, which has lower production costs than the bigger series.

2/ We aim to be competitive by producing high quality and creating a uniqueness in the market by being clearly Danish and both entertaining and important at the same time.

3/ I think the market needs to produce fewer and better titles. It is quality and boldness that will consolidate the industry going forward.

Mette Nelund, Head of Drama, TV2 Denmark

1/ During the past five years, we have doubled our investments in drama productions, and the area will continue to be a strategic focus for us going forward, although we need to be aware of the uncertain future.

We are enriched by a strong content strategy and some highly talented creative partners and talents who consistently deliver content and series that perform well on our platform, TV 2 Play. Therefore, drama plays a crucial role for us as commercial public service broadcaster. We focus on close stories that are relevant and at eye-level with our audience. We see it as essential to gather Danes around stories that are meaningful and bring reflection and hope in a time full of changes.

The Danes appreciate compelling narratives and quality Danish drama productions that contribute to making drama a significant factor for new sales and engagement.

2/ We have a highly diverse repertoire of high-quality content. Across genres and target demographics, we excel at bringing Danes together with relevant stories.

3/ One of the things that I care deeply about when we talk about future-proofing the industry is up-skilling. Based on the structural changes in the drama industry, we see a need for up-skilling within the industry, a more qualified workforce, and an overall strategy on how the drama industry can create and retain talent and make itself attractive in the long run.

Currently, the industry is very much network-based. This means that the recruitment foundation for new talent is limited, as the invitation to enter the industry doesn’t happen at a structural level. We don’t have a foundation that enables us to navigate large changes quickly and efficiently. AI, better working environment and sustainable productions are some of the very important changes we need to adapt to.


Piodor Gustafsson, Director of Scripted Content at TV4 Media, Sweden.

1/ Drama and scripted comedy in particular, have proved to be one of the most important genres to attract new subscribers, but also what existing subscribers love to see. We have already reorganised the Drama department to meet the strategy we implemented a year ago. Drama is one of the heroes in the digital transformation and no cuts are expected in the foreseeable future.

Our drama slate will be on the same level as per the last couple of years. We will however focus on fewer, bigger and better. The aim is to have a balance between our big returning brands and new "event" series such as Estonia, Riding in Darkness, The Congregation, Hostage etc.

2/ Our strategy is to keep producing our successful brands and to commission new series that can create a bigger splash. Again, fewer, bigger and better is what we continue to aim for.

3/ The industry could invest with care, and develop properly with talent that are motivated and keen to make a difference. Commission not too early and not too late. Timing and splash-potential is of essence.

(Interviews were slightly edited for publication purposes)