Piodor Gustafsson joins TV4 Media as Nordic/Baltic Head of Scripted

The highly regarded Gustafsson will move to TV4 Media from his current position as independent producer, managing director of Spark.

Recent TV dramas to his credit include TV4/C More’s Moscow Noir and Stockholm Requiem, the multi-awarded films Border and Glenn Close vehicle The Wife.

Gustafsson has also worked as talent rep for the literary house Salomonsson Agency. Earlier senior corporate positions that he held in the Swedish film industry include Drama Commissioning Editor for SVT and Feature Film Commissioner at the Swedish Film Institute.

At TV4 Media which encompasses the brands C More in the Nordics, TV4 in Sweden and MTV Finland, Gustafsson will report to Content Director Åsa Sjöberg and work closely with the local heads of drama in Sweden, Josefine Tengblad and in Finland, Jani Hartikainen.

Speaking to nordicfilmandtvnews.com, Gustafsson said: “Timing was good to join TV4 Media under Telia’s new ownership, as the group seems very keen to increase its commitment to scripted content. I’m always passionate about strategic decision-making and I’m looking forward to working with Josefin and Jani and their respective teams, to bring the best scripted content to TV4, MTV and C More viewers."

Åsa Sjöberg said: “Piodor is one of the industry’s most experienced, knowledgeable and well-qualified people. It is absolutely fantastic that he is joining our team as we are adopting to a new position and taking an overall approach to the Nordics and the Baltics.”

C More and TV4’s upcoming TV series include The Sandhamn Murders season 7, Top Dog, A Wedding, Funeral & a Christening season 2, Beck and the family-oriented sitcom Robssons.

MTV’s fall line-up includes Sunday Lunch (Sunnuntailounas) season 3, the divorce comedy drama The Ex-Happy (Ex-Onnelliset) season 4, Beach Bar (Rantabaari) season 3 and the hit daily drama Secret Lives (Salatut elämät).

Recent ratings successes include the family series Ture Sventon and the Secret of the Bermuda Triangle and the crime drama Backström which posted a record 1.5 million viewers across all platforms for its opening episode in March.

Four questions to Åsa Sjöberg, TV4 Media Content Director:

What triggered your decision to create the new position of Head of Scripted, not only for the Nordics but also the Baltics?
Åsa Sjöberg: Having a footprint in the Nordic and Baltic region makes sense as this is where our mother company - the Telia Group - is established. So far, we’ve commissioned scripted content mostly in Finland and Sweden, but C More is already a Nordic operation and we hope that in the future, our streaming service will be even stronger as a Nordic player. Also, as competition is growing for commissioners in the Nordics, we want to have a stronger strategic role when it comes to ordering the best scripted content for our audience.

The appointment of a film & TV executive in the calibre of Piodor Gustafsson gives a very positive signal to the industry, as it indicates how serious Telia is about scripted content going forward…
ÅS: This is exactly the message we want to give. Scripted content is essential to our audience and to our group. It defines our brand. In recent months, we have expanded our scripted investments with the brand ‘C More samlar familjen’ (‘C More brings the family together’). Besides the successful IP-based Ture Sventon family franchise, we are producing a new show for the family, Robssons [Nordisk Film TV], in-keeping with the very strong Scandinavian tradition of children and family content.

Again, this is why we felt it was time to broaden our scope and bring someone strong like Piodor to help us with this Nordic expansion.

What biggest challenges do you face these days?
ÅS: We have a strong tradition of co-producing in the Nordics as well as with European partners such as Germany. But this model is being challenged today by the major global players. It’s a complex media environment in which we navigate today. We have to adapt, commission and finance our projects in other ways, in a wider perspective, to continue to bring the best content to our audience.

Consolidating our team, on a local level with Josefin [Tengblad] in Sweden, Jani [Hartikainen] in Finland, and now on a local level, first with Max Hallén, recently appointed Director of Business Affairs, Scripted Content Nordics and now Piodor is part of our strategy.

Piodor brings so much knowledge from different perspectives of the industry, and I am totally confident that through his wide network - in front/behind the camera, locally and internationally - he will be a key facilitator to attract the best talents, which is the heart of great scripted content.

How has scripted content at TV4 Media been impacted by Covid-19?
ÅS: Everyone of course has been impacted. It’s been however slightly different in Sweden and we’ve been able to continue filming and producing across our programmes - with the exception of sports. We have of course followed the regulations, taken all health measures possible, and it’s been a safe journey so far-knock on wood!

When it comes to scripted, we’ve just wrapped for instance the last Beck series and moving into production with Jägarna (The Hunters) season 2 starring Rolf Lassgård.

All in all, some projects have been postponed, but we haven’t stopped any production, and fortunately as well, most of them are locally produced. Everyone has done a great job. It’s vital for the industry that productions go on and that jobs are secured.