Dramas from public service broadcasters in the Nordics are rising, but scripted commissioners are feeling the heat amid multiple market challenges.
As investment falls elsewhere in the world and local budgets are increasingly stretched, the need to pivot to attract younger viewers and better cater to other audiences has heightened to new levels, according to panel of commissioners today at the MIA Market in Italy.
“There are fewer commissioners commissioning fewer series,” said Johanna Gårdare, Head of Drama at SVT in Sweden.
She was appearing on the panel alongside counterparts from NRK in Norway, YLE in Finland and DR in Denmark on the ‘The Nordic Blueprint’ panel.
This was set up following a report in July from Ampere Analysis that showed that the Nordic regions public service broadcasters ordered 67 scripted series in Q1 of 2025 recorded – 24% year-on-year growth and the highest total recorded to date for a quarter. In comparison, worldwide commissioning fell by 15% in the same period.
Even so, the panellists said PSBs are facing unique challenges in the era of global streaming competition.
“We are very fortune people because we have money up front paid for by tax payers upfront, but at the same time we’re challenged because the young audiences don’t go to our platforms any more,” said Marianne Furevold-Boland, Head of Drama at NRK in Norway.
PSBs need to embrace marketing in a way that is not “natural” to them to combat the domination of platforms such as YouTube and bring back those audiences, she added. Dramas such as NRK’s Requiem For Selina, inspired by the story of Norway’s first fashion blogger, would also bring them closer to those tough-to-reach teens and young adults, said Furevold-Boland.
Henriette Marienlund, Head of Drama at DR, said juggling the pressures of a broad viewership was complicated. “Audiences want quality, thought provoking and entertaining content from us,” she said. “Other platforms have a different modus operandi, but they demand more of our content.”
Marienlund revealed a clip of upcoming drama Uniformen (The Uniform), a Miso Film series about the aftermath of a trainee police officer who shoots a suspect. “We hope it will attract people in their 20s, maybe teenagers too,” she said.
Also appearing on the panel was Jarmo Lampela, Head of Drama at YLE in Finland, who noted the Finnish market was significantly challenged with cutbacks across the cultural sector. This is heaping pressure on YLE to pick up the slack, even thought the Finnish government has PSB has actually had millions of euros added to his budget over coming years.
“Even though YLE is stable, we cannot feed the whole industry,” said Lampela. “The climate has been quite heavy because the savings that have been needed. The whole cultural sector has been facing big cutbacks.”
In a similar vein, Sweden’s Gårdare said there was a general downturn in scripted orders, which is hurting the Swedish market, and making risky commissioning harder.
“We struggle to maintain renewal of the content, so how can you afford or even dare to bet on what are not the safe horses? It is understandable but it’s a problem, as the production companies are very complaint and responsive to what the commissioners want. We need more players on the market so I welcome more competition.”
Gårdare unveiled a clip of recently launched vampire horror drama Färjan (Blood Cruise), which is set on a cruise ship and stars the likes of Tuppence Middleton, Björn Bengtsson, Jessica Grabowsky, Marika Lagercrantz and debuting lead Kolbjörn Skarsgård.
“We need relevance, relevance, relevance,” she said. I have so much cosy crime and that’s what happens in 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 going on these crews or the fantastic coast line, with a more universal theme that’s recognizable, you’re on to something.”
She also noted the SVT and Disney+ political comedy-drama Whiskey on the Rocks had unexpectedly attracted young audiences, who are normally looking for shorter-firm scripted.
After holding a survey of viewers following its broadcast, some trends came to light. “It was six 45-minutes and it really attracted young people,” she said. “We didn’t aim for that but it did. They said they appreciated it was based on a true story, the Russian submarine that ran aground in the Swedish archipelago in the 1980s, and it was humorous. They also appreciated the Russian elements. I’m not sure what that means but it reflects society right now.”
MIA began yesterday in Rome and runs through this week, with Italian producers rubbing shoulders with international execs. It comes shortly ahead of the Rome Film Festival, which runs October 15-26.
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