annual report - TV4

Transcription

annual report - TV4

ANNUAL REPORT TV4 2007
ANNUAL REPORT
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Photo: Andres Lundberg
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JAN SCHERMAN
YOU SEE US
2007 WAS AN OUTSTANDING YEAR FOR THE TV4 GROUP. NEW TV CHANNELS AND NEW WEBSITES WERE
LAUNCHED, AND THE 360 DEGREE CONCEPT HAD A HUGE IMPACT. LOOKING BACK OVER THE NOTES IN
HIS DIARY, CEO JAN SCHERMAN CONFIRMS THAT THE COMPANY’S VIDEOS ARE BEING FEATURES ON AN
INCREASING NUMBER OF PLATFORMS. AND THIS IS ONLY THE BEGINNING…
January 2008
sitting on the plane from Las Vegas, heading home to
Sweden after almost a week at NATPE*, one of the
world’s biggest and most traditional TV conferences.
The weather is crystal clear. The vast expanse of the
Grand Canyon lies 10,000 meters below.
Five hundred television companies from all over the
world participated at the NATPE conference, a stressful anthill in the midst of all the slot machines at the
Mandalay Bay Hotel. Much of it looks familiar. But also
unfamiliar.
One of the industry’s TV heavyweights sets the tone
– Jeff Zucker, CEO at NBC Universal.
Consumers are the ones who choose, he says. TV content is no longer confined to the living room. It’s everywhere. In the supermarket. In the taxi. On cell phones.
On the net.
January 2007 – Full speed ahead for the TV4 Group
jeff zucker’s words reach back one year in time like a
bridge to the past. The mantra of “everywhere” is nothing
new, but has now become firmly entrenched in the TV
industry.
Take the beginning of the TV4 year as perhaps the
clearest example. Let’s dance (Dancing with the Stars)
jumped the gun on the net. Our website offered a sneak
preview of what was to come. Then the site became an
arena for post-show chat and the opportunity to watch it
all again, and again. In the morning. In the evening. Or
at night. All of Sweden danced on every platform. And
towering over all of it—like the church in the middle of
the village—was the live broadcast and voting on TV4.
The highlight of Friday evening.
most intriguing, though, is that the development is based
on two opposing trends.
One trend is videos far from the comfort of the sitting
room sofa. The news show TV4Nyheterna expands to
the mobile with almost fifteen daily newscasts. The same
news has a constant presence on the radio and online at
tv4nyheterna.se. The weather show TV4Vädret is available online and on TV. Leila bakes on TV4 Plus and at
recept.nu (recipes). Viewers can watch football on TV4
Sport and on fotbollskanalen.se.
*NATPE = National Associates of Television Program Executives.
TV4a rsredENG_0103_Scherman.indd1 1
2007 IN BRIEF
• The TV4 Group enjoyed a successful year in
2007, with SEK 628 million in profits.
• TV4 is the single largest TV channel in Sweden
with a total share of viewers of 21.2 percent.
• The TV4 Group is the largest media house in
Sweden. On average each person spends
43 minutes every day watching one of our TV
channels.
• Last year the TV4 Group launched seven new
sites and eight new mobile services.
• The TV4 Group has captured 55 percent of the
total TV advertising market.
And then the other trend. Traditional TV at scheduled
times. TV as it has always been. TV that starts with the
spark of a rumour, moves on to the gossip of the campfire, and spreads into the burning issue of the forest
fire. That’s why everyone remembers the stiff, tottering
steps of Lasse Brandeby on Let’s dance, Friday nights at a
scheduled broadcast time. Many voted to support Lasse
for his charm, and even more voted for him when he
requested, in his delightful local Gothenburg dialect, to
be voted out.
Let’s Dance affected an entire nation and triggered a
wave of interest in dance. Dance schools across the country had waiting queues! And several advertisers chose the
imagery of both quickstep and tango.
We love doing what we know many others are also
doing. We see Beck reruns for the fourth time. We watch
the Göta Canal movies. Or we’re glued to the box watching Crocodile Dundee.
We follow the news on TV4Nyheterna at 7 and 10 p.m.
Just as we do for the morning, daytime and evening talk
shows Nyhetsmorgon, Malou and Kvällsöppet. Not to
TV4 Årsberättelse
TV4 Group 2007 • 1
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JAN SCHERMAN
mention the local news from our 16 TV stations spanning north to south. Or House, Dr. Phil, Äntligen hemma,
Bygglov, Jerry Springer, Conan O’Brien, The unknown…
We love sports on TV4Sporten and live broadcasts.
Conclusion: two parallel and opposing trends dominate
the scene – video consumption in solitude and TV viewing in company. And that’s why the TV4 Group focuses
on both.
» TAKEN TOGETHER, THE TV4 GROUP’S
ACTIVITIES ARE UNIQUE IN THE SWEDISH
MEDIA MARKET. «
jeff zucker from the us knows what’s happening, and
in his keynote speech at the conference in Las Vegas he
underscores that while TV is still bringing in the most
money, change is underway and keeping up with the
trends is essential.
Photo: JAN SCHERMAN
Twelve-month results – 2007 a record year
in many ways
the competition has never been tougher. And it came
from every direction. This was the year that TV companies faced competition from the magazines and newspapers that focused more on both TV and Web TV. During
2007 the telecom industry began to make claims on available bandwidth in Sweden’s reserved digital terrestrial
network and companies such as Swedish telco Telia even
bought sport rights.
Not to mention all the niche TV channels, where we
are well represented with TV4 Film, TV4 Fakta (Facts),
TV4 Guld (Gold), TV4 Komedi (Comedy), TV400, TV4
Sport and now even TV4 Science Fiction, as well as four
TV channels in Finland: Film, Facts, Science Fiction and a
combination of Gold and Comedy.
The TV4 channel held its own, pulling ahead of its
competitors to become Sweden’s largest TV channel
with a 21 percent share of the total TV audience. Adding
together all of our TV channels we captured a solid 27.6
Las Vegas is a city wrapped in plastic. The photo on the top left shows the view
from a rooftop lounge, the lower left shows the view from the hotel lobby and on
the right is the view from the taxi.
percent in the 12–59 years age group to become the biggest TV group.
TV4 Nya medier (New media) climbed up the ratings,
leaving several of its rivals in its wake, and is now one of
Sweden’s five biggest online media players. In the mobile
arena we hold an even larger lead.
Commercial sales also reached record levels, despite the
slowing growth rate of the TV market as a whole during
the year. It is particularly gratifying that we succeeded in
capturing so many new TV viewers, that local TV had its
best sales results and that we could offer our advertising
clients a multifaceted selection of opportunities.
I’ve referred to 2007 as the “make or break” year – the
last year with TV4’s analog broadcast permit. The last
year with a marginal distribution advantage. The last
year with “must carry status” that requires all distributors to broadcast TV4. The last year with the franchise.
The last year with discriminatory advertising rules. The
year when we were truly under pressure to safeguard and
improve our leading position.
We met the challenge!
And way down on the bottom line we also enjoyed
a good year – SEK 628 million. Behind this figure is
the superb performance of each and every TV4 Group
employee.
Twelve eventful months – and several factors
that made a difference
taken together, the TV4 Group’s activities are unique in
the Swedish media market. They’re characterised by
incredible diversity. We have Idol winner Marie Picasso
and Nobel laureate Doris Lessing. We broadcast Idol
2007 with the same pride that we did this year’s longest live broadcast of the day-long Nobel Prize festivities.
We enjoy slapstick artists Stefan and Krister from the
comedy Vallarna i Falkenberg as much as we appreciate Henning Mankell’s powerful detective series about
Inspector Wallander. The TV4 Group’s programming
includes David Letterman and Jerry Springer. At the
same time we offer in-depth discussions with TV-host
Malou, debate moderated by Ekdal, and the analysis of
Kalla Fakta (Cold Facts). We like the joy and happiness of
Bonde söker fru (Farmer seeks wife). The contrasts are
part of our strength, our difference. It can be found in the
TV programmes and on the websites.
But the difference can also be found in our rapid
response. Being first with news. When something happens we interrupt our scheduled programming and send
the news. We extend and go in-depth in breaking news
situations when the TV audience seeks information. We
provide service on TV and online.
We’re also quick to start new activities. We’ve had
an intensive rollout of new sites like tvplaneten.se and
recept.nu. We launched TV4 Sport. We bought the entire
European Football Championship. We took over the
rights to broadcast the Nobel festivities. We invested in
Jan Guillou’s “Arn: the Knight Templar.”
The difference is also about accountability. For the
tenth consecutive year, the TV4 Group conducted its
campaign against the growing xenophobia in Sweden
with its “Nollrasism” theme –zero tolerance for racism.
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Photo: JAN SCHERMAN
Nobel Day – a great day in a
great TV4 year. And of course
such moments must be immortalised.
We rolled out the climate smart project – a type of perpetual motion machine, since working for a better environment must remain a work in progress, not just a oneshot deal. Sustainability also characterises our collaborations with Plan International, Unicef and a host of other
aid organisations. This year the TV4 Group’s Christmas
card fund went to Stiftelsen MinStoraDag (Make a Wish
Foundation), which helps severely ill children.
In many of our game shows a lot of money goes to
important purposes.
To our diversity, speed and accountability I would like
to add courage. To dare. Many predicted disaster when
we presented the program concept for the docusoap “I en
annan del av Köping”, about people with disabilities who
live in special housing in the town of Köping. Instead it
became an award-winning success that garnered accolades from the critics.
and content is still king. The finest talent is essential,
but so is paying careful attention to what the viewers
and advertisers want. More and more, it is the consumers who decide. Being in the media industry is ultimately
the same as being a service company with aspirations to
educate the public.
We must be easily accessible on every platform – everywhere.
Best content, best understanding of the customer and
best distribution. The trinity of the modern media world.
From 2007 to 2008 – looking forward, backwards
and to both sides.
we are already well into 2008. We began in the strong
position we established in 2007. We must now continue
to develop the trust of our viewers, advertisers and partners.
For me it is fundamental that the TV4 Group bases its
activities on the journalistic core values: diversity, quality
and integrity. It is just as fundamental that we continue
to develop TV and videos on all platforms. The TV programme continues on the site and in the mobile – or it
begins there. We provide viewers with more opportuni-
Photo: Andreas Lundberg
» IT IS JUST AS FUNDAMENTAL THAT WE
CONTINUE TO DEVELOP TV AND VIDEOS
ON ALL PLATFORMS. «
ties to see their favourite shows whenever they want.
This is known as the 360 degree concept. I prefer the old
school circular diagram of diet recommendations. In our
diet circle we offer everything that viewers and advertisers want. And it is the total picture that provides a sense
of well-being.
The language of sport clearly shows the way: we will
continue our strategy with a focus on the midfield player,
channel TV4, with the niche channels on offense, along
with more local TV and even more activities in “New
media”.
Then there is always that tiny but oh so important
word, “but”.
But, we know very well that success can easily become
the opposite. It is essential to continue our investments
while keeping a watchful eye on costs. And underlying it
all is today’s economic uncertainty.
in closing, a huge
thank you for the many
outstanding contributions of the past year,
and for the trust of our
viewers, advertisers
and partners!
Like peas in a pod. Jan with Peter
“Jan” Magnusson.
jan scherman
TV4 Group 2007 • 3
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IDOL
Idol 2007: 49 million TV viewers. 18 million downloaded videos. 80,000 roadshow visitors. 10,000 mobile
SWEDEN´S IDOL
WE ARE FASCINATED, ADMIRING, WE CROSS OUR FINGERS AND ARE
DELIGHTED. WE HECKLE, WORRY, CRY AND BEGRUDGE. IDOL LEAVES NO
ONE UNTOUCHED. THE 2007 SEASON BROKE ALL RECORDS. ONCE AGAIN.
TEXT
OLA LILJEDAHL
PHOTO
DANIEL OHLSSON
marie picasso won Idol 2007.
Or the TV4 Group.
It depends on how you look at it,
which is exactly the strength of Idol
– the programme can be viewed in
so many ways. Literally. Fans can
watch and follow the programme
everywhere, all the time – on TV,
online, on their mobiles, and in the
newspapers.
Last year it was Idol right and left,
wherever you went. Or 360 degrees,
for those who know their maths.
Once upon a time, a TV show
was a TV show and if it was a hit it
usually had the “Hyland” signature.
That media world no longer exists.
The Idol concept is the best example
of the new times and a concept that
showcases the strength of the TV4
Group.
Idol reaches a level where a TV
show is much more than just a TV
show.
“When you turn off the TV, Idol
is still there,” as Henrik Berndtson,
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players. 1.6 million votes from 1.9 million viewers in the season final.
Tens of thousands of talented individuals, with dreams of being judged by the jury. They
practice, they worry, they dream… For most the journey ends before it begins. For a few
it continues. The queues in city after city actually said it all about the complete success
of the event.
» IDOL IS TRULY A 360-DEGREE CONCEPT THAT
WORKS: THE TUBE, THE WEB, THE MOBILE…
ALL IN A CONTINUOUS CYCLE «
commercial project manager for Idol,
summarises its success.
A board meeting at an industrial firm in Gothenburg discusses
whether Daniel should have been
eliminated. Once that topic is explored, item one on the agenda awaits.
The first question at a day care center in Gävle one Monday morning is
whether or not Marie was any good.
Only then do people ask the “what
shall we do today” question. The
man who almost made it to Idol is a
local celebrity in Halmstad.
That’s just the way it is.
A few figures:
Not including reruns, the programme had 49 million viewers.
A total of 18 million videos were
downloaded from the Idol website.
An amazing 80,000 visitors came
to Idol’s roadshows. An impressive
10,000 people registered as players
of Idol Manager, a mobile game.
The final received about 1.6 million votes from about 1.9 million
viewers.
And an audience of 13,000 made
the final at Stockholm Globe Arena
the world’s biggest Idol final with
runner-up India and third-place
Australia far, far behind.
Tommy Jarnemark, head of
tv4.se, says:
“Idol is truly a 360 degree concept
that works: on the TV, online, in the
mobile. One of the premises of the
360 degree concept is to channel
traffic between platforms, all in a
continuous cycle. The programming
department did a great job of always
keeping us, tv4.se, in the loop. That
allowed us to take care of the viewers
during the week to build momentum
for Friday.
The Idol website is its own world
that is constantly being updated. It
has news, chat, blogs…
“And even the Idol Manager game,
the one people play on their mobiles,
is available online. Ten thousand
people registered for it on their
mobile phones – an amazing figure,
in my opinion, and a good example
of how we succeeded in channeling
viewers between the platforms.”
it was at the website that all of
Marie Picasso’s fans could follow
her fate before the final – and beyond. This Moment TV followed her
first two weeks as a winner, from
the moment she burst into tears
and accepted the cheers from the
audience.
“It made it possible for us to keep
up the activity on the Idol site,” says
Jarnemark.
Pelle Porseryd, executive producer
for Idol, is ultimately responsible
for the TV programme. He thought
it might be possible to surpass the
success of Idol 2006, but was sure it
would be tough:
“Breaking all records – that’s just
amazing. The foundation is good
TV4 Group 2007 • 5
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IDOL
A winning duo. Idol rolled through Sweden and Carina Berg and Carolina Gynning gave it everything they had, wherever they went.
artists, presenters and juries, but on
top of that a vast amount of work
from everyone involved at every
level.”
The choice of presenters Carina
Berg and Carolina Gynning first, and
later Peter Jihde, drew great attention. Peter Swartling, Kishti Tomita
and Daniel Breitholtz in the jury
continued to be successful in their
struggle to win the love-hate relationship with Swedish viewers.
Pelle Porseryd points to the collaborative effort, in which artists,
Chance), where people could try to
get on the programme via the Web in
a final audition. Over 1,000 people
did it, and one was actually included
among the sixteen,” says Porseryd.
Constant development paves the
way for success.
“We made many small positive changes. For example, allowing artists to bring instruments
strengthened the audition segment.
We’re planning more changes for
next year,” he said.
Interest from the rest of the media
» COLLABORATION AMONG THE DIFFERENT PLATFORMS
WORKED INCREDIBLY WELL. WE TRY TO CREATE AS
MANY SYNERGIES AS POSSIBLE «
presenters and jury went from the
TV4 screen to the Web or TV400, or
were guests on the morning show
Nyhetsmorgon or…
For example, the post-show chat
for the final on TV400 drew 200,000
viewers.
“Collaboration among the different
platforms worked incredibly well.
We check and synchronize with one
another and try to generate as many
synergies as possible. One good
example was Sista chansen (Last
A new star is born. Marie Picasso became the darling of the Swedish people after appearing in every conceivable form of media
over the course of a couple of months.
also broke all records.
“The phone started ringing when
we presented the programme hosts
in March and it didn’t stop until after
the final in December,” says Camilla
Filipsson, who handles media contacts.
The media strategy was just about
a 100 % success.
“We included all types of media
this year, even those with a long lead
before going to press like the female
magazine Plaza kvinna and Elle,
which wanted to feature Carina Berg
and Carolina Gynning. And when
Peter Jihde became presenter, the
magazines even included those with
male target groups, like King and the
technology magazine Din Teknik.
According to Filipsson, in 2007
there was an excellent distribution of
personalities and content in the programme, which attracted different
segments of the population:
“Weekly newspaper Ica Kuriren
did an article on Kishti Tomita. She
talked about yoga in the health
magazine Hälsa, at the same time
that the young people were featured
in magazines such as Okej, Glitter
and Kamratposten. Niche website
stureplan.se wrote about the Idols
since they lived in the Stureplan area
in the center of Stockholm during
the production of the show.
Industry publications noted that it
was the biggest final ever. And so on.
no one could miss the coverage of
Idol by the evening tabloids, with
headlines plastered on placards everywhere.
“In 2007 we also noted that the
morning papers sent people to the
rehearsals, which had not happened
before. For example, they developed
their websites so that newspapers
like Dagens Nyheter attended almost
every Thursday rehearsal.”
Over 100 media contacts were
accredited for the final.
Most in demand for interviews was
Carolina Gynning, over the entire
period, but the closer the final came,
the more the spotlight focused on
the two finalists.
Top-of-mind association for the
Picasso name shifted – albeit locally
and for a limited time period – from
Pablo to Marie.
Not exactly a scientific study, but
an indication of Idol’s impact.
The Idol name itself also drew
interest. An “Idol” clothing collection
sold well, as did posters, games,
DVDs and CDs. Henrik Berndtson is
responsible for everything relating
to the brand name. He says that
the interest is enormous, both from
major sponsors (where three out of
four had already been lined up in
January), with their own agenda, to
enthusiastic newcomers with respect
to commercial rights.
The most unexpected enquiry in
2007 came from a manufacturer of
fuse beads. It was approved. People
could download pictures and use
them to create fuse bead art of their
favourite Idols.
And did they sell well?
You bet they did.
6 • TV4 Group 2007
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360˚
HERE’S HOW VIEWERS COULD FOLLOW IDOL
WITH 49 MILLION TV VIEWERS, 250,000 UNIQUE VISITORS TO THE SITE EACH WEEK AND A PLATINUM CD THE MESSAGE IS CLEAR: WHETHER IT’S THE TV, THE WEB OR THE MOBILE PHONE IS IRRELEVANT. IDOL IS EVERYWHERE – A BRILLIANT EXAMPLE OF THE 360 CONCEPT AT ITS BEST.
BROADCASTS ON TV4
48,810,000 – number of viewers of the autumn Idol show (not
including reruns). The 26 broadcasts drew an average of
1,278,000 viewers, and the programmes cross-promoted both
the Web and the voting, as well as the roadshow and TV400.
PRESS
The press coverage
was enormous. In
addition to newspapers and magazines,
coverage by e-zines
and web TV channels
intensified. Among
others, 100 media
contacts were
accredited for the
final.
LIVE
With an audience
of 13,000 the Idol
final at Globen in
Stockholm became
the biggest in the
world (followed
by India with an
audience of 10,000).
But even the journey
to Globen is awesome: the roadshow
with seven stops
throughout Sweden
attracted 80,000 visitors. The programme
had 9,300 applicants.
VOTING
The number of votes
in the final increased
by an amazing 30 %
over last year. In all,
the Friday finals rose
8 %, while the qualifying week remained
unchanged. The
total number of votes
climbed 10 %, and
among those who
watched the final an
impressive 84 % voted
(62 % in 2006).
BROADCASTS ON TV400
A total of 20 programmes were broadcast,
receiving 21 target
rating points (TRP)
within the target group
of 15–39 year olds (13
TRPs in 2006), and setting a new record with
200,000 viewers.
And Idol Eftersnack
(post-show chat)
with Doreen Månsson
and Hannah Graaf
exceeded target
expectations by 100 %.
WEBSITE
How about 250,000
unique visitors per
week? Or 18 million
downloaded clips?
In addition to blogs,
information about
broadcasts and the
roadshow, the Idol
website featured
its own articles and
collaboration with
MSN and the tabloid
Expressen.
MOBILE
Mobile TV channel
IdolTV was designated
“best mobile TV channel” by Swedish telco
Telia. Other activities
included the Idol portal, which attracted 50
% more traffic than last
year; Idol Manager
where 10,000 users
cared for their own
Idol and Idol Candy,
offering features such
as downloading ringtones.
LICENSE
The CD skyrocketed
to the top of the
charts and was
awarded platinum,
with total DVD sales
of 32,000. But fans
could also buy WCT
jackets, T-shirts, hats,
scarves, watches,
caps, bags, fuse
bead kits (!) and
board games.
MARKETING
“A new star will be
born this fall.” This
was the outdoor
campaign theme.
And surveys showed
that people took
notice – 78 % of
respondents had
seen the campaign,
and 91 % of them
knew the source.
ILLUSTRATION: MARTIN REINTZ
TV4ARSREDOV-08s007 7
08-04-09 15.28.52
REPORTING
Morning news show Nyhetsmorgon broadcast 1,300 hours and had 3,650 guests during 2007.
Göran Ellung, Director of Programmes; News,
Current affairs and Sports programmes.
Åsa Sjöberg, Director of Programmes;
Drama, Entertainment, Feature and
Children programmes.
THE ROAD TO A HIT
HOW DO YOU SUCCEED, TIME AFTER TIME, IN FINDING TV HITS THAT INSPIRE THE ENTIRE SWEDISH POPULATION TO
DANCE, YEARN FOR THE COUNTRY OR TO BUILD, WITH OR WITHOUT A PERMIT? THE THREE PROGRAMMING AND
SCHEDULING COORDINATORS REVEAL THEIR TRICKS FOR CREATING THE SUCCESSFUL FORMAT, OFFERING THE
MOST POPULAR ENTERTAINMENT PROGRAMMES AND DRAMA SERIES AND CAPTURING VIEWER INTEREST FROM
THE FIRST MINUTE OF THE MORNING TALK SHOW TO THE LATE NIGHT NEWS.
TEXT ARNE WIRÉN PHOTO LINUS HALLSÉNIUS
mucking out the barn has achieved
glamour status. We see pigs in
the dating reality show Bonde söker fru
(Farmer seeks wife) and dream about
becoming farmers again, like our ancestors.
Dancing schools are packed with Let’s
dance viewers who want to learn ballroom
dancing. And people are engaged in carpentry like never before, inspired by DIY home
improvement shows Äntligen hemma and
Bygglov.
How do you create a TV hit with such an
enormous impact, programmes that do not
seek out trends, but instead create them?
The trio who know the secret include
Göran Ellung, Director of Programmes;
News, Current affairs and Sports programmes. Åsa Sjöberg, Director of
Programmes; Drama, Entertainment,
Feature and Children programmes and
Peter Lindström, Director of Channels. They
decide what viewers will see and what they
hope will capture their interest.
Size matters, they admit; being the “eight
hundred pound gorilla” has its advantages.
“When we do something right it has a
huge impact,” says Åsa. For example, our
launch of Farmen was controversial; we
were the last ones to offer a docusoap
which had already become a highly criticised programme format with limited viewership. But Farmen was the docusoap that
became a favorite with all of Sweden.
And from there the momentum has continued, with reality dating show Bonde
söker fru as the icing on the cake. The TV4
channel has lifted reality shows out of the
basement and into the sitting room.
The success of Bonde söker fru came as
no surprise to the trio.
“No, we were dead certain it would be
a hit. The subject has such broad appeal.
Every Swede has a connection to the little
red cottage in the country. It’s only a generation away“, says Åsa.
“The programme was already a hit in
many countries. We followed its success,
especially in Norway, which gave us a foundation for our own endeavour. And it has
become tremendously successful. It feels
ultra-Swedish.”
the international format simply provides a
base, a template to be filled in with content,
according to Åsa.
“The programme should not have an
American or foreign feel to it. The participants in Let’s dance are near and dear
to the Swedish heart, celebrities with
whom people already have a relationship.
’How well will speedway driver Tony
Rickardsson do? Does he know how to do
anything other than to drive a motorcycle?’
And ’next season it could even be my turn
to be on Idol, they’re coming to my town!’
This is how most programmes are conceived, according to Åsa – TV4 searches
through the international selection.
“But even if we feel something is right
on the mark, it may still take several years
before we make our move, when the timing
is right for us,” she says.
“This is what happened with Idol,” says
Göran. We believed in it from the start,
but we sat on it for several years until we
felt the time was right for us. At the same
time, channel 3 had already started running
Fame Factory and channel 5 had Superstar.
We were criticised for putting on Idol as
a response to their programmes. But we
dared to trust in the incredibly strong Idol
format, and because we waited as long as
we did, everything fell into place.”
the tv4 group gives an impression of enormous self-confidence. It does not blindly
leap at successful programmes and struggle
8 • TV4 Group 2007
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The TV4 Group broadcasts an average of 220 hours of TV per day.
Peter Lindström, Director of Channels.
to get them on the air as soon as possible;
the timing has to be right. And this is a
large part of the secret behind all these hits,
knowing that the channel is doing the right
thing, exactly when it is doing it.
Every Friday afternoon the trio meet for a
brainstorming session.
“It’s essential to remain aware of each
others’ work and what others in the building are doing so we can coordinate our
efforts,” says Peter.
Isn’t this a set-up for trouble, with two
programme directors who each want to
launch their programmes and a third who
does not provide them with the budget and
the scheduling they want?
“Yes. In part this is why we work in this
constellation. Everyone needs to face some
resistance, creative resistance. I provide the
balance for finding the right mix, the most
profitable schedule,” says Peter.
“We’re always extremely self-critical. In
the past we rarely made mid-season changes. But now we aren’t ashamed of making
changes if needed,” he says.
“The evening talk show Kvällsöppet did
not make much of a splash in its first season. We pressured to bring about change
and it worked,” says Göran.
But while innovation is important it is
also crucial to nurture what we already
have, according to Göran, such as not cancelling a programme as good as Kalla fakta
when it draws criticism.
“Instead we strengthened the editorial
staff, increased the budget and the time slot.
We must dare to believe in our programming
and set our own agenda, rather than nervously making changes when the programme
comes under fire. Similarly, we have decided
» IT HAS TO BE THE RIGHT IDEA, THE RIGHT PEOPLE, THE
RIGHT TIME, THE RIGHT PRODUCTION COMPANY, THE
RIGHT PRESENTERS, THE RIGHT MARKETING. … AND
THE RIGHT BUDGET. ‹‹
to build on the strength of our 10 p.m. news,
and we now include all elements: national
news, local news, financial news and sports
in a single expanded broadcast.”
it may seem cavalier to bet on the leisurely
pace found in reality show Bonde söker fru.
In an age when TV viewers are used to a
rapid-fire pace, TV4 let’s us sit and watch
cows ruminate while a tractor slowly moves
across a field. But there were never any
doubts, according to Åsa.
“Budding love must be reflected by the
narrative. This is no rock video,” she says.
But how could anyone know that viewers
would be so fascinated by ballroom dancing
in Let’s dance?
“You have to know what’s happening
beyond the center of Stockholm, to realise
that lots of people in this country put on
their dancing shoes and go out and dance,”
says Åsa.
But it isn’t always so obvious with every
programme. Like Körslaget (Clash of the
Choirs) which will premiere in spring 2008.
Körslaget sends celebrities back to their
hometown to put together a choir, which
they later bring with them to compete on
the programme. This Swedish idea has
already been a hit in the United States, but
will be it a hit in Sweden? They admit that
it’s a long shot.
“Choir singing is extremely popular in
Sweden, but will it be fun to watch? For
example, countless Swedes play golf, but no
one watches it,” says Peter.
Getting people to watch TV at a time
when few have done so in the past also
requires courage.
“We were the first to introduce morning
TV, a bold venture that did not have everyone’s support. Now we have taken the next
step longer with the daytime show Efter tio
(After ten) with Malou, a programme which
after three seasons is already on the way to
leaving SVT’s morning shows behind,” says
Göran.
every year the tv4 Group receives at least
500 Swedish programme ideas. Only two
or three pass muster and result in new programmes. Sometimes they become bit hits,
like home improvement shows Äntligen
hemma and now Bygglov, which was created as an updated version and complement
to Äntligen hemma.
“We wanted to vitalise the do-it-yourself
genre with a bit more reality,” says Åsa.
“But in every new venture many pieces
have to fall into place,” she says.
“We have to have the right idea in the
hands of the right people, the right time
in the schedule, the right production company, the right casting, the right presenter.
And the right marketing.”
“With the right budget,” adds Peter.
TV4 Group 2007 • 9
TV4a rsredENG_0809_dir.indd 9
08-04-09 19.11.21
INTERVIEW
DAVID HELLENIUS
“TRUE INSPIRATION POPS UP IN THE MIDDLE OF DAILY LIFE”
David Hellenius, I just spoke to Malou von
Sivers who wanted to ask you two questions.
She wonders what you are most proud of, and
she wants to know if it’s true that you were
petrified of girls as a teenager.
“Eh, petrified of girls? Hardly, quite the
contrary! What I am most proud of is my son
Leo. He’s the greatest. That’s what you can
tell her.”
He has just dropped Leo off at nursery,
as we begin to talk about the past year. A
very pleasant topic if your name happens to
be David Hellenius. There are some years
when things go wrong, and you worry…
But then again, there’s 2007.
A banner year.
“It felt like a good year and an easy one,
both privately and at work. Sometimes I
get the feeling that I’m just in tune with the
flow. That’s how 2007 was for me. At work I
did Let’s dance and the comedies Tack gode
gud! (Oh thank goodness!) and Fredag hela
veckan (Friday all week long). Privately, I
was on paternity leave during the summer.”
A little golf, with the emphasis on little,
and boating with friends. But mostly he was
at home hanging out with his family.
And his performance at work reflects the
harmony in his life.
“Over the years I’ve developed, well...,
let’s say an allergy to conference rooms. It’s
difficult to schedule an hour to brainstorm
an idea that will inspire 1.5 million viewers
to comment ’wow, that was funny, how did
they ever think of that?’ True inspiration
comes to you while you’re picking up the
kids from nursery, grocery shopping, or
buying a car …
“The next hurdle is to convince others
that something good really is good, which
was a challenge early in my TV career.”
“When I graduated from drama school
I looked for work together with Christine
Meltzer.”
they called the television station svt to
propose an idea. Forget it. Called someone
else. Sorry. Tried TV4. No thanks – or ...
wait a minute…
“I was connected to Children’s programming, where they told me that unfortunately they already had their programme lineup, but they were looking for a presenter for
FOR DAVID HELLENIUS, THE PAST YEAR HAS BEEN A CAKEWALK, BOTH AT
WORK AND IN PRIVATE. THE SUCCESSES ENJOYED BY LET’S DANCE AND
COMEDY SHOW FREDAG HELA VECKAN (FRIDAY ALL WEEK LONG) MADE
HIM EVEN MORE POPULAR AS A PRESENTER. HE BLAMES THE ENVIRON–
MENT FOR THESE SUCCESSES, THE PEOPLE WHO MAKE HIM HAPPY AND
FEEL GOOD.
TEXT OLA LILJEDAHL PHOTO JÖRGEN HILDEBRANDT
a children’s show. Open casting.”
Hmmm.
Hellenius was heading for the “I’ll take
anything I can get” phase so he went there,
got the job and did Rallyplaneten with Sofia
Eriksson, now Wistam. After two years at
TV4, ZTV and TV3 beckoned, where he
formed a duo with Peter Magnusson.
Next an event occurred that could be
called Strange TV History, part one.
“Rumour has it that TV4 bought us for
Idol 2004, but that wasn’t the case. Quite
simply, the truth is that we never heard
from TV3. We’d done the comedy show
Goafton Sverige (Good evening Sweden),
with a million viewers, but they didn’t seem
interested in having us do anything new. I
still think it’s a bit weird.
just a single phone call from them, and
one of the country’s most popular presenters would never have changed channels.
Instead TV4 called about casting for Idol.
“We got the job and a foot in the door at
TV4. Again. Peter and I said that we would
also like to do a comedy show and that
became Hey Baberiba.”
And here comes Strange TV History, part
two.
“Peter and I had tried on both ZTV and
TV3 to bring in Christine. We knew how
incredibly good she is. We even showed
screen tests, but they had their doubts. But
TV4 knew about her and said go for it. And
there have been no regrets ever since.”
Being presenters for a show like Let’s
dance, live in front of two million viewers,
requires the right man and woman.
“When you walk on stage together, as
Jessica Almenäs and I do now, you have a
script. Otherwise I generally try to manage
without. I’m pretty sensitive to the environ-
ment, I’ve noticed. When everyone around
you is charged, it rubs off. When the comments in your earpiece are funny, things
usually get better. Producers and editors
have to provide structure, but there must
also be spontaneity. It’s essential to surround yourself with people who make you
feel good.”
Especially when a programme isn’t really
working.
“One year Peter and I did Stadskampen
(towns competing against each other). It
worked from a viewer standpoint, but was a
challenging production.”
Yet still important.
“That’s when we met the Manusfamiljen,
who later produced Hey Baberiba (comedy
show). They have the knack of making others feel good and getting them to do their
best. Without them Hey Baberiba would
never have been as successful as it was.”
Hellenius playing Bengt Magnusson,
Tilde de Paula, Linda Isacsson or Peder
Lamm is a TV4 classic at all levels. But, no,
he never will be Bengt Magnusson in private. Not even after a few beers.
“The day I start to do Bengt or Tilde
or someone else at a party is the day I’ve
become self-indulgent and consumed with
myself.”
While we’re on the subject of Tilde, whom
he co-presented one of his first programmes
with, does Hellenius possibly have a question
to relay to her?
“Definitely. Does she have any technique for
transitioning between, say, Triss scratch cards
and a tragic event? And ask her if she ever
gets obsessive thoughts in the middle of interviews? Perhaps something she’d like to say but
isn’t allowed to…”
10 • TV4 Group 2007
TV4a rsredENG_1011_David.indd 10
08-04-09 19.12.10
What do I dream about
doing? This is the question
that a photographer asked
David Hellenius and, well, he
quickly accomplished his big
goal in every sense of the
word. And, no, The Chain Saw
Massacre is not his favorite
movie, regardless of what his
expression may be saying…
TV4TV4ARSREDOV-08s011 11
08-04-09 14.46.10
The Sunday broadcast on TV4 attracts 800,000 viewers. TV4 Sport broadcasts 7,300 hours per year.
Photo: LINUS HALLSÉNIUS
Photo: RICKARD ERIKSSON
SPORTS
Trio with an eye on the ball. Suzanne Sjögren,
Jessica Almenäs and Malin Svedberg.
The brains who speculate about the brawn:
Ulf Adelsohn, Malin Svedberg, Peter Jihde,
Anders Timell and Paolo Roberto.
FABULOUS FEEL FOR THE BALL
THE BALL IS ROUND AND MAYBE THAT’S WHY IT BOUNCES SO EASILY BETWEEN THE TV4 GROUP’S VARIOUS PLATFORMS. THE COLLABORATION BETWEEN THE TUBE AND THE SCREEN IS ON A PAR WITH THAT OF IBRAHIMOVIC
AND ELMANDER. AND THAT’S WHY THE TV4 CHANNEL WAS THE BIGGEST FOOTBALL POWERHOUSE IN 2007.
TEXT
OLA LILJEDAHL
“and speaking of the biggest,”
says sport director Hans Pekkari
with some pride,”in 2007 TV4Sporten
on Sundays passed SVT1 (Swedish
public service television) sportshow
Sportspegeln in total viewership.”
He explains:
“Sportspegeln is an institution
that has been around since the early
1960s. Nine Sundays in a row! For a
long time we’ve been biggest in our
main target group, 12–59 years, but
now also in total viewers.”
But let’s get back to football.
Take the year 2000.
That’s when Tina Nordlund accepted the “Diamond Ball” and her acceptance speech was a kick in the pants
for the old guard. With crushing irony
she explained how much fun it was
as a female football player to occasionally appear on TV.
“Talk about role models! I still smile
when I think about it,” says Lotta
Schelin, one of today’s biggest stars.
Quite a bit has happened since then,
and the TV4 Group is no exception.
Hans Pekkari:
“The Women’s 2007 World Cup in
China was the second time we broadcast a Football World Cup for women.
It was actually the biggest venture of
any channel in the world in women’s
football because we broadcast all 32
matches live. In addition we had a
recap show on TV in the evenings.
“The team didn’t do that well, but it
still whets the appetite. We will continue to pursue this venture. We’ve been
working for many years to become
the leading channel for both men and
women’s football. Now we’ve achieved
a good strong position.
the tv4 group has exclusive rights
to the 2011 Women’s World Cup in
Germany. TV4 will share the 2010
and 2014 Men’s World Cup with SVT.
Men’s football is biggest this summer. From TV4’s viewpoint, the
European Football Championship in
Switzerland/Austria will be a historic
event: we have exclusive rights and
will broadcast a men’s football championship tournament in its entirety.
“All 31 matches – 27 on the TV4
channel and four more on TV4 Sport
for the final round when the matches
are played simultaneously.”
Ola Wenström, who along with Peter
12 • TV4 Group 2007
TV4a rsredENG_1213_Sport.indd 12
08-04-09 19.12.58
TV4Sporten owns the rights to the men’s Football World Cup in 2010 and 2014 and the women’s Football World Cup in 2011.
Photo: SCANPIX
ar.
“So then I said to
Lagerbäck…”
King of the football
gala, Zlatan
Ibrahimovic, made
Mikael Persbrandt
and Jessica Almenäs laugh – and the
whole of Sweden
laughed with them.
Jihde will host the broadcasts, says:
“I can say that we’re treated with
greater respect now by both players
and managers in clubs and national
teams. Everyone is pleased about our
major football initiative. In the past we
may have been viewed as somewhat
rebellious—and we have no intentions
of changing that—but now our voice
is really being heard for events like the
European Championship.
in addition to the championship
Pekkari concludes that they have “the
best of domestic football and good
international leagues such as the
Spanish La Liga and Italian Serie A.”
Olof Lundh, editor of the website
fotbollskanalen.se, explains how they
work:
“When the national team headed for
Costa Rica during their winter tour we
tagged along and provided everything
from continual live reports, articles
and blogs from practice sessions and
press conferences online, to TV commentaries, interviews, live TV broadcasts and a recap show broadcast on
fotbollskanalen.se. And of course we
also provided live broadcasts of the
matches, with viewer communication
directly to the commentator booth.”
During the European Championship
this summer, just as with the women’s
World Championship in 2007, there
will be extensive collaboration between TV4, TV4 Sport and fotbollskanalen.se.
All European Championship matches will also be broadcast live on fotbollskanalen.se.
Hans Pekkari:
“One of the reasons that fotbollskanalen.se has scored big is the unique
integration between the Internet and
TV. The name of the Sunday evening
recap programme on TV4 just happens to be Fotbollskanalen (Football
Channel). Olof Lundh, from fotbollskanalen.se, is constantly connected to
the viewers, giving them the opportunity to air their views directly on the
programme. With this integration the
website has become both a journalistic
and financial success.”
In 2007 the TV4 Sport channel was
born.
“The sport channel initiative was
important to strengthen the entire
sport repertoire in the TV4 Group.
It gave us the opportunity to continue
our strong commitment to expand
coverage of the various events,”
says Pekkari.
viewer figures in the millions on
several Golden League evenings
meant that more than just football
was popular on the channel.
“All of 2007 was defined by the 360
degree approach. We allowed our
strong sport events on the TV4 channel to beneficially overflow to TV4
Sport, fotbollskanalen.se and in some
cases even to the mobile. And this is
only going to get bigger. In January
2008, during the handball World
Championship in Norway, we had a
handball website where the entire editorial staff blogged about life behind
the scenes.”
Sweden’s fifth place meant that the
national team qualified for the 2009
World Championships in Croatia.
A championship tournament that
will be broadcast on, you guessed it,
TV4 and TV4 Sport.
Hans Pekkari,
Head of Sport.
TV4 Group 2007 • 13
TV4a rsredENG_1213_Sport.indd 13
08-04-09 19.13.29
INTERVIEW
TILDE DE PAULA
“I’VE BEEN ABLE TO DO MOST OF WHAT I’VE DREAMED OF”
Tilde de Paula, your old friend David Hellenius
has two questions for you. He’s curious whether you have any special technique for making the transition between, say, Triss scratch
cards and tragic events. And he also wonders
whether you have obsessive thoughts and want
to say things you aren’t allowed to say when
doing interviews.
“I have no special techniques for transitions.
Hmmm, which may sometimes be obvious. You
have to be totally present in the task at hand.
The question about obsessive thoughts is hysterical, because I know David has them. But,
no, he doesn’t have to worry. I don’t have any.”
However, she did have obsessive thoughts,
or something like them, all autumn long.
That’s when Tilde de Paula went around
with her gym bag packed. She was determined to work out. Very soon. Her schedule
was full with the Sunday morning talk show
Nyhetsmorgon söndag, the awards show
Kristallengalan, and the Nobel Prize festivities, as well as what is generally known as
’having a life’. But she was determined to
work out. Just as soon as she finished, or
picked up, or dropped off …
Everyone who thinks she spent much time
working out, raise your hand!
Right you are.
“That bag did nothing but generate negative emotional energy, so I decided that I
would not be allowed to work out at all until
after the New Year. Not even if I had five free
hours. But after New Year, I would seriously
get started.”
That’s why she’s carrying her tennis racket
around now a match with Anna Kokotos, from
TV4’s make-up department, awaits. Tilde has
actually spruced up her tennis game from the
time at Tofta camping when she beat almost
everyone in the staff tournaments.
“I’ve also taken up horseback riding. I
decided that working out has to be more
than being a gym rat,” she says.
actually this is fairly typical of Tilde de
Paula. She describes herself, and is described
by others, as being fairly structured and
goal-oriented. Undoubtedly due to a combination of her personality and her life as a
single mother of three.
In any case the result is a brilliant programme host.
SHE WAS NAMED FEMALE TV PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR FOR 2007.
SHE’S A NATURAL AT HOSTING BANQUETS AND GALA EVENTS.
HER CHEERFUL SMILE GREETS US EVERY SUNDAY MORNING. HOW
DOES TILDE DE PAULA MANAGE TO KEEP UP THIS PACE? COULD THE
ANSWER LIE IN A TENNIS RACKET, A STRONG PERSONALITY AND LIFE
WITH THREE CHILDREN?
Yes, good enough to earn the newspaper
Aftonbladet’s prize for female TV personality
of the year at an awards gala in spring 2007.
“The seconds before the winner was
introduced are a black hole for me. Then
I screamed with joy and, yes, managed to
throw a cushion in the air.”
Which hit a surprised Kristin Kaspersen.
In addition, Tilde’s (with American
mother, Brazilian father, born in Chile and
childhood in Sweden) acceptance speech
has also become a new classic: “Not bad for
a little immigrant girl…”
“I also see this as a prize for the entire
production staff. We were also awarded a
travel stipend for a trip to the US.”
She came to TV4 after a traineeship at the
local station TV4 Uppland, almost straight
out of journalism school. She herself was
a bit surprised, since her plan was to be a
“newspaper journalist, preferably at DN
(Stockholm’s major daily newspaper) to
expose corrupt politicians” .
But the TV camera liked Tilde and before
long, Tilde liked the TV camera.
“I’ve been at TV4 for a long time because
I enjoy the climate, the people I work with,
the flexibility; the atmosphere is informal.
And when I wanted to change my work situation there was room to do so. Most of what
I dreamt of doing in my career I’ve actually
got the chance to do. It’s almost like I feel,
wow, am I going to work for another thirty
years before I get to rest. Hold on…”
As an example of the high pace of her life,
she receives a text message from her estate
agent who is selling her flat and responds
to it while continuing to relate how her
Sunday morning talk show, Nyhetsmorgon
söndag, is a dream programme to host.
“A fabulous staff with talented people.
And good people, with the emphasis on
people. Kajsa Lindohf, Åse Åsenlund, Anna
Fagerström…”
The latter, surrounding yourself with people who energize you, has become increasingly important.
“Right now my concerns are about the
type of person I want to be, the type of mother… For the moment my dreams are therefore very much on the personal level.”
And speaking of personal.
When hosting a programme like
Nyhetsmorgon söndag, maintaining the balance between what’s personal and private is
difficult. Tilde de Paula is generally optimistic and most viewers usually get to see her
cheerful side – even though she has cried on
TV a few times.
“In Chile I became so angry with a female
bureaucrat that I cried in anger. And on
the morning that the news came that Anna
Lindh (Minister of Foreign Affairs) had died I
found it difficult to hold back my tears.”
on such occasions maintaining the balance
is extremely difficult.
“But my job is not to spread my sorrow,
but to provide room for others to speak out.
When I did a talk show about the situation
of the Iraqi women and children I had to
keep reminding myself to stay on track. My
tears should not draw attention from what is
really important, in this case letting them tell
their story.”
Of course as a curious interviewer there are
loads of questions she’d love to ask her colleagues. For example, she relays a question to
Martin Timell:
“Ask him if he’s dissatisfied with anything
about himself. And whether he watches his
own programmes and, if so, what does he
think he is good at and not so good at…
14 • TV4 Group 2007
TV4a rsredENG_1415_Tilde.indd 14
08-04-09 19.14.14
Can I decide where I
want my photo taken?
Tilde de Paula combined
two of her passions: the
city and horses. And, no,
she usually does not ride
without a helmet, but you
know how it can be with
hairdos and helmets…
08-04-09 14.47.03
TV4 NEWS
100 weekly TV broadcasts – a million viewers every day. 250 weekly radio broadcasts – 1.2
LEADING MEDIA CENTRE
WHAT HAPPENED? A BIG STORY BREAKS. THE WHOLE COUNTRY IS TALKING
ABOUT IT. EVERYONE WANTS TO KNOW MORE. THIS IS WHEN THE TV4 GROUP
SHOWS WHO PROVIDES SWEDEN’S LEADING NEWS COVERAGE. AND SINCE
SPRING 2007 IN A BRAND NEW STUDIO.
TEXT
OLA LILJEDAHL
PHOTO
GUNNAR SEIJBOLD
first the new studio. Magnus
Evertsson was project manager:
“We had three concepts for the
project: evolution, flexibility, cost
efficiency. They’re all inter-related.
Through evolution we created a
studio that can continue to evolve.
Visible changes can be made a few
times a year. Flexibility means that
we can step back and quickly change
the scene by changing the background, graphics, and furniture. In
this way we can use the same corner
for a variety of productions. And of
course this is cost-effective.
When it comes to the news studio,
viewers should have the feeling that
they are in the middle of a media
centre. Which is exactly what TV4 is.
“WE WANT TO BE WHERE THE
AUDIENCE IS. WE WANT TO BE
ACCESSIBLE EVERYWHERE”
the tragedy in rödeby and the
beating on Kungsholmen are two
news stories where we led the way
– and the collaboration between the
different platforms made the difference. Kajsa Ericsson, editor-in-chief
and responsible editor for tv4nyheterna.se, mobil.tv4nyheterna.se
and TV4 closed-caption TV, says:
“These types of events develop
from week to week, from trial date
to trial date, and from hour to hour.
On the net you can find the entire
context gathered in one place.
TV news viewers have many of
their questions answered, but keep
coming up with new ones. What
happened to…? Who actually
said…? Wasn’t it…?”
Anna Lagercrantz, news chief for
TV4Nyheterna, concludes:
“The ability to offer many platforms is superb. People no longer
just sit and stare at the TV like they
used to. We want to be where the
audience is, be accessible everywhere.”
The news is conveyed in various
ways depending on the platform.
• Radio, which is now an integral
part of the editorial department,
can immediately convey a story.
• Closed-caption TV, likewise.
• TV offers a finished product and
analysis.
• The web provides in-depth, updated, expanded analysis – and is
especially important for its ability
to directly communicate with the
viewer/reader.
• Local TV addresses the event from
a local angle.
• The mobile phone provides a condensed version of tv4nyheterna.
se which is not too cumbersome to
download.
what is special about this case is
that everything is under the same
roof, allowing everyone involved
to collaborate – and, especially
important, they can give each other
a nudge.
2007 was an exciting year for both
the TV show TV4Nyheterna and
tv4nyheterna.se, in part because
it was a big news year, and in part
because of our internal changes.
Kajsa Ericsson:
“It was intense. We lifted the news
and the weather from TV4.se and
created two separate sites. The next
step is to build the brand and awareness. The most important part of the
job was to work closely with TV, so
that during the broadcast viewers
can be referred to the site for added
value. A new method of continuous
communication is underway. The
weather is a separate success story.
The meteorologists are fabulous
when they encourage people to send
in their own weather photos and
publicized the tv4vadret.se website.”
HI, BO HOLMSTRÖM…
WHAT MAKES A
GOOD NEWS
REPORTER?
“A good news reporter keeps his ear to
the ground, is sensitive to moods and
buzz, knows absolutely everyone, everywhere, and is quick to react when something happens. A news reporter does not
control his area, city, neighbourhood
or country. But he does quickly inform
those who are in control – the people.”
How did you learn that you were the
recipient of the 2007 Big Journalism Prize?
“Someone called me with the news
a week ahead of time because I was
16 • TV4 Group 2007
TV4a rsredENG_1617_Nyh.indd 16
08-04-09 19.14.45
million listeners every day. Biggest news programme for viewers under the age of 45.
expected to give a speech. My first
thought was: this isn’t exactly a
high-jump competition, where one
centimeter determines who’s best.
My next thought was: I’m no longer
a teenager; there must be loads of
talented young people out there who
are more deserving of this prize. And
my last thought was: hotdamn! This
is great! After all, I’ve been at it for
almost 50 years.”
How did you actually end up at the
TV4 Group?
“I worked at SVT (Swedish public service television company) in
Malmö and was happy about it,
when a decision was made to cancel
Reportrarna (The Reporters), and
move it to Stockholm. I was trans-
ferred there too, but no one wanted
anything to do with me there. So I
went to the boss and said I was quitting. Okay, he said, with his back
turned towards me. So I’d like to say
thanks for my 40 years here, and
extended my hand. Bye, he said,
without even turning around. Then
the TV4 Group called and I found a
gang who really cared about each
other. TV4 may not be heaven on
earth, but the atmosphere in the editorial department is extremely pleasant and going to work is fun. What
more could you want? A higher salary, sure, but you know how things
are...”
You will be seventy years old this
autumn.
“I’ve already passed my ’sell-by
date’ by a few years now, and my
name may not be the first one singled out by TV4 to draw a crowd.
On the other hand I’ve realised that
I’m no longer at a point in my career
where all the important assignments
come to me. But I have plenty to do.
I feel that people respect me. And
it’s a darned sight more fun going to
work at the TV4 Group than staying
at home.”
“I’m not sure I’d feel that way if I
worked at Atlas Copco, Ericsson or
SVT. But of course I can’t be sure.
But I do know that for an older person who has never felt old, and who
continues to see the potential for
new and exciting reporting, TV4 is
not a bad place to end a career.”
Bo Holmström,
winner of the
2007 Big Journalism Prize.
TV4 Group 2007 • 17
TV4a rsredENG_1617_Nyh.indd 17
08-04-09 19.15.18
THE NOBEL BANQUET
18 • TV4 Group 2007
08-04-09 15.00.11
OH, WHAT A PARTY!
18 HOURS OF LIVE BROADCASTING, WITHOUT COMMERCIALS! A STAFF OF 250 IN FRONT
OF AND BEHIND THE CAMERA. COUNTLESS HOURS OF PLANNING AND PREPARATION.
AND THE RESULT? THE TV4 GROUP’S PRESTIGIOUS PRODUCTION – THE NOBEL DAY– WAS
VIEWED BY 3.6 MILLION SWEDES.
TV4 Group 2007 • 19
08-04-09 15.00.29
THE NOBEL BANQUET
TEXT
OLA LILJEDAHL
PHOTO
ROGER TURESSON
there may not be a Nobel prize in TV production,
but the Nobel broadcast with eighteen hours of uninterrupted commercial-free live coverage, represents the
TV4 Group’s longest, biggest and grandest effort ever.
And perhaps set the Swedish record for formal work
clothes.
Petra Nordlund, who along with Bengt Magnusson hosted
the evening broadcast, searches for the appropriate words
to describe this effort and finally finds one that says it all:
“Magic!”
She still smiles just thinking about her reaction when
she was first asked to participate and burst out in the well
known spirit of the Nobel prize – “finally!” Because when
this prize award ceremony has been on your mind ever
since winning an ice cream eating contest as an eight year
old, it’s not easily forgotten.
“We’ve watched this ever since we were kids, the world’s
greatest prize and grandest party. I think we all felt we
were participating in something historic, the first team
that covered the Nobel Day for TV4,” says Petra Nordlund.
Bengt Magnusson can only agree:
“It was really fun for TV4 to jump in and take the reins
from SVT (Swedish public service television company).
After all this is a prestigious production. It’s always fun to
cover a grand event. We become a team, pulling together
to find our own way to do the broadcasts. Our aspiration
was to have the viewers feel that they were participating.
Many creative solutions helped us to achieve this, including just being well-positioned inside the City hall.”
his own best memory – possibly aside from enjoying the
cockerel sausage when he got to taste the Nobel dinner
on live television – was when they did the nomination
programmes and managed to interview the chemistry
prize winner, Gerhard Ertl in Germany, just minutes after
the announcement. Ertl began in a daze by answering in
English…
“… but then,” says Magnusson, “all you hear are German
voices chiming in and in that moment you understand just
how it feels to the win the Nobel prize.”
He and Petra Nordlund hosted the evening broadcasts
after Lasse Bengtsson and Tilde de Paula began the day,
switching to Malou von Sivers in Oslo, who in turn handed
over to Peter Lindgren and Anna Lindmarker…
» THE POWER BEHIND TV4, WHEN EVERYTHING IS HAPPENING
Everyone was there. That is, everyone at TV4. At least that’s how it felt when the largest and most prestigious initiative in the history of the channel ushered the Nobel
20 • TV4 Group 2007
TV4a rsredENG_1825_Nobel.indd 20
08-04-09 19.16.08
All the while with the help of mingling reporters and
sidekicks such as Jenny Östergren, Elisabet Frerot and
Steffo Törnqvist.
And about 250 others.
Yes, it’s true.
Malin Kvist, project manager and executive producer for
the Nobel day– or Miss Nobel, if you will – says:
“Since this permeated everything for days, and of course
most of all on 10 December, there were about 250 people
engaged at the busiest times.”
That’s almost the size of a small town.
Kvist continues:
“Many times during our journey, which began in March,
I thought to myself that next year we’ll outsource this to a
production company. But two days before the big event I
had one of those hallelujah moments, as Kishti would have
said on Idol. Suddenly I was convinced that no way would
we ever consider outsourcing. Because that feeling and the
power behind TV4, when everything is happening all at
once and the stakes are high, is unbelievable. Everyone is
in a great mood and so willing to find solutions, from the
guard who lets you park in a no-parking zone to someone
in internal services who arranges housing for a trainee. I
think that everyone can feel how well the programming
and news departments are working together and that everyone is aware that… wow, we’re doing Nobel, we’re actually doing the Nobel!”
the nobel day, without commercials and occupying an
entire Monday, was considered by many to be a risk.
Partly, because it was before any big sponsors had come
on board and partly in regard to viewer numbers.
But corporate giants Ericsson and Volvo stepping in as
sponsors and viewership peaking at 1.6 million at about 8
p.m. told a different story.
According to Malin Kvist, the broadcasts provided viewers with both information and glamour:
“We said ahead of time that we would focus on science
in particular. The peace prize and the prize for literature
have always been in the spotlight, but we chose to travel the
more difficult path by showcasing the prizes in medicine,
physics and chemistry. It was gratifying to see that this had
an impact on both TV and in the scientific community. It
feels good to have contributed something new. It also dem-
Continued
on page 24
ALL AT ONCE AND THE STAKES ARE HIGH, IS UNBELIEVABLE.«
banquet into the TV world of the twenty-first century. And while the cameras rolled, intense work was taking place behind the scenes.
TV4 Group 2007 • 21
08-04-09 19.17.53
THE NOBEL BANQUET
The Nobel banquet is
the banquet to end all
banquets. Sometimes
photos say more than
a thousand words…
22 • TV4 Group 2007
08-04-09 15.01.23
» EVERYONE IS AWARE THAT…
WOW, WE’RE DOING NOBEL,
WE’RE ACTUALLY DOING THE NOBEL. «
TV4 Group 2007 • 23
08-04-09 15.01.40
THE NOBEL BANQUET
The Nobel coverage represents a huge commitment from scores of TV4 employees. Intense efforts, hour after hour, both in the studio and behind the scenes. It is
» FIRST IT WAS WITH GREAT DIGNITY, LATER WE SUCCEEDED
Continued from
page 21
onstrated strong in-house journalism and talent. The TV4
staff was responsible for every aspect of the production. You
don’t need a large science staff when you have talented
reporters.”
Bengt Magnusson underscores:
“And guests who are thoroughly knowledgeable in their
subjects. You can’t just sit and talk your way through programmes like these.”
The broadcasts went from being rather prim and proper
in the beginning towards becoming more open and fun,
and finally rather spontaneous at the end.
Just like the Nobel banquet.
“At first it was highly dignified. We’re talking about the
greatest prize in the world. Later we succeeded in showing
that people were having fun,” says Malin Kvist, “and showing that scientists can have fun is important. They have to
solve the future problems of the world. If we can succeed
in showing young people that these individuals are not
boring, but awesome people who happen to be vastly intelligent, then we’ve accomplished something.”
Our Nobel coverage dominated several platforms.
“Everything was broadcast live online and to the mobile.
Since the events took place during the day, when more
people are probably sitting in front of their computers than
by their TVs, this was important. We believe this type of
viewership will increase in the future, so it was important
to be a part of it already now. It also meant that everyone
in the building was deeply involved,” says Malin Kvist.
The Nobel team worked closely with the two news programmes, Nyheterna and Nyhetsmorgon, which made TV4
the news leader in Nobel news.
And we discuss both major topics, like the three people
who shared the medicine prize, and less earthshaking
details, such as the fact that this year’s appetizer was
“homard en daube avec flétan à l’aneth et oeufs d’ablette
de Kalix”.
Or lobster aspic with dill-baked halibut and Kalix bleak
roe, in case you happen to have forgotten your school
French.
petra nordlund got to eat on live television.
“I swiped the entire dab of Kalix bleak roe from Bengt,”
she confessed.
He, on the other hand, was so consumed by the cockerel
sausage, which he referred to as “a brilliant creation”, that
it hardly mattered. The other participants got to eat the
Nobel dinner, which was served at 10 p.m. At least, those
who found the time. Many were busy and had to survive
on sandwiches and a few jelly beans.
24 • TV4 Group 2007
08-04-09 19.19.18
doubtful that a toast of thanks ever tasted better…
A picture that says more than a thousand words shows
the struggles of Magnus Evertsson, producer for the
awards ceremony and the concert, to put on his tuxedo,
which would have been a piece of cake if only the telephone hadn’t been ringing and someone had stopped
interrupting to let him know that the telephone was ringing again and again and again…
Thirty minutes before the broadcast.
“We aren’t supposed to disturb the dinner, but instead
remain invisible. Which in this case meant that we all had
to wear dinner jacket or evening gowns. It wouldn’t be
appropriate for someone to be seen in white trainers and
jeans,” he laughs.
talking about working clothes, a few minutes later
Elisabet Frerot wrote in her blog on the Nobel Day website:
“It’s just as magical as everyone said. When the fanfare
sounds in the City hall and the royal family enters in, it’s
hard to believe that it’s real. But my feet remind me of
the reality of the situation. Just try standing in high heels
for fourteen hours and you’ll understand. But it doesn’t
matter, because on this evening, we all get to be princesses for a day.”
And princes, too.
Malin Kvist cannot find enough words of praise for eve-
ryone involved in this eighteen hour broadcast. However,
she notes that Frerot in particular “must be made of steel
because she is able to depict everything from science to
glamour with the same simple clarity”.
But when Frerot happened to step on and tear the hem
of her dress, which Marina Kereklidou created, and had
to have it stitched together during a break, is yet another
story.
Such things happen even to the best of superwomen.
nor did words of praise fail jacob wallenberg after
the broadcast when he knocked on the bus, raised his
hands to the skies and said that “the entire scientific community in Sweden thanks you”. He followed up by raising
his glass of champagne in a toast.
Ultimately the banquet drew to a close. Some of the
TV4 team sat down and drank wine with Peder Lamb. A
few picked at the leftovers lying on the table. But alas,
no more cockerel sausage. Maybe because of Bengt
Magnusson. Someone caught forty winks in a chair. A
few went home. Anders “Foppa” Forsberg was seen coiling up the last of the cables at some point in the middle
of the night.
A long, long time after he had unrolled them.
How do you spell glamour, anyway?
Photo: LINUS HALLSÉNIUS
IN SHOWING THAT EVERYONE WAS HAVING FUN. «
Malin Kvist, executive producer for
the Nobel day, can
look back on a
wonderful day and
a fantastic job.
TV4 Group • 25
08-04-09 19.20.32
INTERVIEW
MARTIN TIMELL
“CONDUCTING AN INTERVIEW IS THE HARDEST THING YOU CAN DO”
Martin Timell, when I spoke with Tilde de
Paula she asked me to ask you whether there
is anything about yourself that bothers you.
“Oh… absolutely… of course… I’d like to
be handsome.”
End of story.
She also wondered whether Martin
Timell watches his own programmes and, if
so, what he feels that he does well and perhaps not so well.
Timell thinks for a few moments and then
says:
“Sometimes I watch. When I do I think
I’m good at letting the guests take centre
stage, I’m also pretty good at teaching people to enjoying DIY projects. After twelve
years it would be pretty bad if I couldn’t.
However, I would like to be a better interviewer, because that’s the most difficult
thing you can do on TV.”
Talk about difficult…
In 2007 Martin Timell experienced what
may have been his most challenging situation at work. His father lay dying in hospital
right when Deal or no deal was being taped.
“I ran between the hospital and the
recording sessions. To be honest I didn’t
think I’d be able to handle it. But I had fabulous coworkers who said we would cancel if
necessary, supported me in every way.
“My father died between two tapings. I
got there in time. The support I received
from the Deal or no deal crew was incredible. Björn Persson, Helena who takes care
of catering, Henke von Zweigbergk, the
production staff, the photographers… No,
I really shouldn’t mention any names. I
would be sure to leave someone out in my
haste. All of them were great.”
The situation clearly showed Martin
Timell, super pro. TV viewers saw Martin as
usual – happy, laughing and quick-witted.
“It was tough. In such situations you don’t
do it for the audience, but for your coworkers, because at least one hundred people are
involved in the production. And everything
depends on my doing a good job. During
the ninety minute taping session I have to
set aside my own feelings.”
AS TV4’S FOREMOST DO-IT-YOURSELFER, FOR TWELVE YEARS WE HAVE
FOLLOWED MARTIN TIMELL BRANDISHING HIS HAMMER AND NAILS. OR
COFFEE CUP. HE HAS INSPIRED THOUSANDS OF SWEDES TO GET UP FROM
THE SOFA AND GRAB A SAW. NOWADAYS, HE SWITCHES BETWEEN HIS
CARPENTER OVERALLS AND FANCY SUITS, HIS BOX OF TOOLS AND HIS
BRIEFCASE OF MONEY. AND TAKES IT A LITTLE EASIER IN BETWEEN.
martin timell was recruited to TV4 from
SVT back in 1994.
“Per Sundin called and asked if I wanted
to come over. I said no thanks. First. Then I
said thanks. The simple reason was that the
managers were so much better. Although I
did get a higher salary (only slightly higher), the managers were the main reason.
It was, and is, a more fun place to work. I
meet with Jan Scherman as much in one
month as I had met with my supervisor at
SVT in ten years. I don’t understand why it
has to be so hard.”
And after fourteen years he feels like a
TV4 person, if not like an institution.
“It’s fun being there, even if it’s not often
enough. I spend most of my time with the
production companies. When I visit the TV4
building it’s often to discuss something with
the supervisors or to participate in other
programmes. But it’s also a real pleasure
to chat with people in the cafeteria queue.
Sometimes that alone can be worth the visit.
Of course there are many TV4 memories.
And paradoxically enough, the best one
relates to a cancelled program.
“When the terrible murders in
Malexander took place we were doing the
programme På rymmen (On the run). We
cancelled it because you can’t play cops and
robbers when people have been murdered.
Göran Bergström, who hosted the program
along with me, had the phone number to
the police authorities so we could work
together with the news show Nyheterna
instead. It was unbelievably interesting and
impressive.”
He has worked hard for many years.
“But nowadays, when 15 May comes
along each year I’m out of there and take
the whole summer off. It’s largely a matter of planning. Although I live in central
Stockholm, I spend as much time as possible in the country, on an island in the
archipelago.”
Naturally with a building project. Most
recently, a sauna.
“In general, I work much less these days,
only a couple of days a week. I’ve worked
hard to reach where I am and now things
are beginning to fall into place.”
Once you reach the age of fifty…
“My father’s death was the sad part of
2007, turning fifty was the fun part. At
seven in the morning twenty friends stood
there with their instruments and sang, with
champagne and all, later a family dinner
and big party with loads of people. Many
from TV4, of course.
If Malou von Sivers had been there Timell
could have taken the opportunity to relay his
question to her then. Instead he sends it now:
“Ask her if there is any program on TV4
that she would like to take over? And if so
what would she do better than the current
presenter?”
26 • TV4 Group 2007
TV4a rsredENG_2627_Martin.indd 26
08-04-09 19.21.51
My dream? Martin Timell
had no doubts when given
the chance to choose the
site of the photo shoot. If
airplane spotting is your
hobby then that’s how it is.
And, no, the plane never
took off, despite Martin’s
nagging…
08-04-09 14.56.03
TV4 PLUS
Viewership increased 30 percent in 2007. A few of our top ratings: Leila’s Christmas 383,000
Programme director
Linda Grahn and
presenter Leila
Lindholm, who coincidentally discovered that they were
neighbours, are two
of the ingredients in
the successful recipe that made TV4
Plus bigger, tastier
and better in 2007.
RECIPE FOR SUCCESS
ARE YOU INTERESTED IN TALKING TO A DOG, KNOWING WHAT AN HEIRLOOM IS WORTH, OR SEEING WHAT LIES
BEYOND IN THE UNKNOWN? PERHAPS GETTING AN INSPIRATION FOR DINNER FROM A PASSIONATE PRESENTER?
TV4 PLUS IS INVESTING BIG-TIME IN SPECIAL INTEREST PROGRAMMING AND IT SEEMS TO BE A RECIPE FOR SUCCESS.
TEXT
OLA LILJEDAHL
PHOTO
JÖRGEN
HILDEBRANDT
linda grahn, programme director for the channel, explains:
“We want to personalise the
channel. Leila Lindholm and Per
Morberg, who host our cooking
shows, are two good examples. Part
of the success with these particular
shows is that both presenters are
extremely charismatic and make
their food shows into a combination
of food and lifestyle.
According to Linda, viewers feel
that they almost want to be Per with
all his children and his wonderful
home, or Leila who is such a fantastic baker.
“Leila, for example, is a complete
experience. While watching TV in
the comfort of your sitting room you
get exited as much by what she’s
doing as by her earring or her pink
bowl or her cake stand. We want
impassioned presenters and Per is
a good example. He’s eccentric and
28 • TV4 Group 2007
TV4a rsredENG_2829_Maten.indd 28
08-04-09 19.23.07
v
Photo: Cineflix
Photo: Linus Hallsénius
Per Morberg in What’s cooking?
Photo: Daniel Ohlsson
viewers, Antikdeckarna 300,000 and the season final of La Liga between Real Madrid and Majorca was seen by 418,000 viewers.
The dog whisperer.
Det okända (The unknown).
» LEILA IS A TOTAL EXPERIENCE. WHILE WATCHING FROM
TV IN THE COMFORT OF YOUR SITTING ROOM YOU GET
EXITED AS MUCH BY WHAT SHE’S DOING AS BY HER
EARRING OR HER PINK BOWL… «
fantastic. We can see the traffic to
the site sharply increasing as soon
as the shows begin. People seem to
be online and watch TV at the same
time. The traffic continues during
the evening and will into the following day.”
lives to cook. He is both a chef and
an actor. These programmes become
a total experience, not just cooking
in a sterile TV kitchen.”
That’s why there can be a viewer
storm when people begin hunting for
Leila’s gold M&Ms.
All of the recipes from both Leila
and Per are immediately posted at
recept.nu.
Hanna Sofia Johansson at the
website says:
“We launched the site in November
in conjunction with the broadcast of
Leila’s Christmas show, as part of the
launch campaign. The collaboration
between the channel and the net is
one recipe called Rocky Road,
containing small caramels, set a new
record last Christmas.
What exactly is in it?
Well..., look at recept.nu…
“Getting viewers to go from the TV
to the net and vice versa is important,” says Linda Grahn and concludes that even cross-channel collaboration is necessary for success.
“The single most obvious way to
market ourselves is through trailers
on TV4. It’s also extremely important
to have a planning department that
sees the bigger picture, so that our
planning does not conflict. Even our
own programming hosts, which we
implemented in October 2007, have
had a big impact. By collaborating
with the TV4 programming host
we can shuttle viewers between our
channels.”
her point is that a programme
host of our own is important for the
Swedish viewers. The idea is to get
the feeling that your friend on the
tube is keeping you company, telling
you that later in the evening it will
be time for the cooking show Vad blir
det för mat (What’s cooking) with
Per Morberg…
In general 2007 was a good year
for TV4 Plus.
“We have more Swedish productions than any other commercial
channel except TV4. The nature of
our channel is strongly Swedish. If
you view TV4 as a channel for the
entire family gathering around Let’s
dance on Friday evening, then the
strength of TV4 Plus can be found
in interest-based weekday programming.”
The idea is a bit like having the
viewer feel ’Time for me to sit down
with my channel’ Cooking enthusiasts spend some time with Leila
Lindholm or Per Morberg. Viewers
with other interests have Swedishproduced programmes like Det okända (The unknown), Antikdeckarna
(auctions and antiques), Jakt & fiske
(Hunting & fishing), Koloniområdet
Iris (gardening), Classic rally (classic
cars), När & fjärran (travel)…
Popular cake. Visit
online at recept.nu
and see how to make
a Rocky Road.
or the english-language hit shows
like The Dog Whisperer.
“We achieved an excellent flow in
the early evenings in part by chance.
In part because Judge Judy was a
little shorter than we thought when
we bought the show, so our talented
planners inserted a double episode
of Glamour, followed by Judge Judy
and then Dr. Phil. Which gave us a
real boost between 5:40 and 8:00 in
the evening in 2007.”
And the channel will take off even
more in 2008 when game show
Bingolotto storms onto the screen.
“We’ll continue to bring our viewers knowledgeable and charismatic
presenters. I believe it’s important
to identify what is working well and
expand upon it,” says Linda Grahn.
By the way, where can you find
gold M&Ms?
Hmmm., actually nowhere in
Sweden.
Leila had gone shopping abroad.
So please, dear reader, refrain
from rioting at your local store.
TV4 Group 2007 • 29
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08-04-09 19.24.15
NICHE CHANNELS
6,543,000 Swedes chose to watch one of the TV4 Group channels • The TV4 Group
EYE CANDY FOR EVERYONE!
LIKE LUSCIOUS PRALINES WITH DIFFERENT FILLINGS, WRAPPED IN SHINY PAPER, THE TV4 GROUP NICHE CHANNELS
TEMPT US TO TASTE OUR WAY THROUGH THE CANDY BOWL TO FIND OUR OWN FAVORITES. THE SELECTION IS VAST
AND SEVERAL NEW CHANNELS OFFER NEW VIEWING EXPERIENCES. CAN’T MAKE UP YOUR MIND? TRY THEM ALL!
when you’re in the mood for chocolate you take a chocolate praline.
When you want liquorice you look for a
liquorice caramel.
So really, it should be obvious.
If you need a good laugh you watch TV4
Komedi and if your you’re in the mood for
sport you choose TV4 Sport.
The challenge lies in showing the distributors the tremendous interest in niche
channels.
“It takes time to change viewer habits.
However, 2007 was quite an eventful year.
In general, TV viewers watched more TV
than in 2006 and watched a great deal
more on niche channels. The TV4 Groups
niche channels outperformed the market
and achieved a market share of almost 21
percent of viewership in the target group
12–59 years,” says Johan Kleberg, acting
Director at the TV4 Niche channels.
In 2007 the Niche channel business area
included TV4 Film, TV400, TV4 Fakta, TV4
Guld, TV4 Komedi and TV4 Sport in the
Swedish market (TV4 Sport is jointly owned
with the newspaper Expressen).
the channels are like a bowl of sweets,
just waiting for viewers with a craving to
pick their favourites.
The business area also includes four
channels in cooperation with MTV3 in the
Finnish market.
On 29 February 2008 the selection was
expanded to include TV4 Science Fiction.
Johan Kleberg:
“If you exclude the five big channels, we
believe that the rest of the TV market will
grow. We see this in many other countries,
including the UK.”
Much effort and money was dedicated
in 2007 to clarifying TV400’s profile and it
produced results. The channel experienced
strong growth. TV4 Film also continued
to grow in both viewership and number of
subscribers and is still by far Sweden’s biggest film channel.
“Sports have always been and continue to
be an important element of the TV4 Group’s
offering. In 2007 a sport channel run by
Photo: Daniel Ohlsson
TEXT OLA LILJEDAHL PHOTO LINUS HALLSÉNIUS
Märta Rydbeck and Johan Kleberg.
TV4 was finally launched. Through collaboration with Sport-Expressen the channel
has the strongest cross-promotion platform
of all TV channels in Sweden,” says Kleberg.
TV4 Sport is where the TV4 Group has
made the biggest investment in one channel
since the launch of TV4 Plus five years ago.
Advertisers found their way to the many
niche channels in 2007. The well-defined
target group, exemplified by TV4 Fakta,
attracts advertisers.
“In the same way that TV4 Niche channels drove the development of digital TV in
Sweden we are now doing this in Finland,
this time in cooperation with MTV3. The
substantial increase in the number of subscribers in Finland contributed in 2007 to
the profitability of TV4 Niche channels,”
says Johan Kleberg.
tv4 science fiction is being launched in
Finland in collaboration with MTV3 from
the start. In early 2008 another channel
premiered in Finland. MTV3 Sarja will offer
both classic and modern series.
One limitation when it comes to the
number of niche channels can of course
be found in the fact that Sweden only has
a population of nine million. As a result
the focus is now on channels that can be
launched simultaneously throughout the
Nordic region, like TV4 Science Fiction.
“Sometimes the net is a better distribution format. At this time, in our assessment
we feel that this is the case for music. And
niche channels, with extremely narrow top-
ics, such as a sailing channel, may be difficult to put on TV. Then the net is probably
a better venue.”
Despite major investments the goal is to
further improve the profitability of the business area.
“We continue to generate interest in digital TV just as TV4 once sparked demand
for commercial TV. We have a strong brand
and a broad window in which to market our
channels. That makes it easy for viewers to
find us,” says Kleberg.
the current challenge is more to convince the distributors that the demand that
the TV4 Group sees really exists. Märta
Rydbeck, Distribution Director, concludes:
“The hard part is convincing the distributors to pay for the value that we deliver
to their customers. Sometimes they are
extremely technology-focused, and less content-focused. But the reason people choose
one distribution format over another is
because they want access to a specific channel. The channels are the drivers when
deciding whether to get cable TV or satellite TV or terrestrial TV or IP TV. The great
challenge is to show that you
can still make a profit
even with improved
quality and content.”
During discussions she notes that
the strength of the
TV4 Group channels lies in
their reputation as quality channels
that satisfy various target groups.
Because some people prefer liquorice,
while others are chocolate lovers.
30 • TV4 Group 2007
TV4a rsredENG_3034_Nisch.indd 30
08-04-09 19.25.13
b
broadcast for a total of 76,000 TV hours, 14,000 programmes, 2,800 trailers and 1,100 vignettes • Swedes watched TV for 144 minutes/day
TV4 Group 2007 • 31
08-04-09 19.25.46
NICHE CHANNELS
Channel name: TV4 Film
Startup year: 2004
Target group: Everyone
Distribution/Scope: 43 % awareness
/penetration
Most viewed programme: The Matrix
the trend for viewership to shift from the
major TV channels to the smaller and more
specialized channels grew even stronger
during the last year. With the termination
of analog broadcasts, for the first time many
consumers were put in the position of having to choose a new distribution format. And
what this new freedom of choice meant for
TV4 Film was an impressive twenty-five percent increase in number of subscribers! As a
result the channel became established as the
biggest film channel in the Nordic countries.
During the year TV4 Film further strengthened its reputation as a Swedish film channel, in part by showing at least one Swedish
film every day, and in part because the channel bought rights from SF, Sandrews and
Sonet.
TV4 Film also provided financial support
to the film projects that the TV4 Group coproduced with Swedish film producers. TV4
Film thereby secured the television rights
for new successes like Göta Canal 2 (from
GF Studios) and Se upp för dårarna (from
Sweetwater). Since December 2007 TV4 Film
provides Swedish subtitles on all Swedish
films shown by the channel.
Over the past year the channel strengthened its relations with the heaviest content
providers from Hollywood, through major
purchases from NBC/Universal and Warner
Bros. By increasing the number of content
providers, the channel is further strengthening and expanding its content so that it may
continue to be the most attractive film channel for a growing number of viewers.
And you have to admit it’s wonderful to
have a channel that can offer everything from
the diversity of US flicks like Raging Bull and
The Party to the French film, Amelie.
TV4 Film’s Finnish twin channel, Sub-TV
Leffa, which was launched at the end of
2006, experienced tremendous
growth in 2007. The
number of subscribers increased from a
modest 20,000 to an
almost unbelievable
300,000, showing
that the hit channel TV4
Film can be exported to other
countries.
Photo: TV4
A GOOD EXPORT PRODUCT
The Matrix with Carrie-Anne Moss and
Keanu Reaves.
– BO THÖRNWALL, CHANNEL MANAGER
on 28 may 2007 TV400 threw a fabulous
party at Berns in Stockholm.
We celebrated our new image, our colourful campaign and told our friends and partners about the ’new’ TV400. For those of
you who weren’t there I can briefly say that
we repainted the channel in pink and black.
We softened the edges and brightened up
the logo, we rejuvenated the channel with
newly composed music and new vignettes,
all for the purpose of increasing the channel’s appeal to
young people in general and
women in particular. The
new channel was launched
with a nationwide outdoor
campaign with the message
Vägra vardagen (Refuse
the ordinary)!
The campaign and the
new appearance were
greeted with high praise
and warmly received by
both the industry and the audience. Of course
it felt great, but it didn’t feel completely right
until we integrated the external with the
internal by the middle of September. At that
point all programmes with a macho orientation, such as Ultimate fighters, X-fighters,
NBA and others, had left the channel. Then
we followed the viewer figures with nervous
excitement. We had to find out if women between the ages of 15 and 39 had discovered us
and the changes we had carried out.
In the final analysis that’s the only thing
that counts – the right numbers.
And happily enough, the numbers were
right! We were positioned exactly where
we wanted to be, with sixty
percent women and forty
percent men. And even if
TV400 has not yet achieved
one hundred percent of its
goals, a great deal has transpired. Much remains to be done,
but TV400 has had a fabulous
year!
SUCCESSFUL RELAUNCH
Channel name: TV400
Startup year: 2005
Target group: All aged 15-39, with a predominance of women
Distribution/Scope: 40 % awareness/penetration
Most viewed programme: Idol Extra
Many people wanted to watch Idol’s
post-show chat with Doreen Månsson and
Hannah Graaf.
– TORA HECKSCHER,
CHANNEL MANAGER
32 • TV4 Group 2007
08-04-09 19.26.29
Channel name: TV4 Fakta
Startup year: 2005
Target group: Everyone 25–59
Most viewed programme: Hemligheter kring
11 september (The Secret History of 9/11)
2007 was the year that TV4 Fakta came
of age. The young channel grew up, stood
straighter, spoke more clearly, found itself in
the present and became more involved. We
continued to grow and reached our viewer
goals while the channel’s profitability greatly
exceeded expectations.
2007 was also the year when we initiated
a change process that was exciting – but also
difficult. Difficult because Fakta had just
gone through a period of rapid advances.
Now was the time to find our place and grow
bigger – but with more sustainability!
We began by formulating a brand platform,
that served as a clear guideline for everyone
working with the channel. We spearheaded
major campaigns such as Climate smart,
where Al Gore’s highly acclaimed film
became the guiding light. We focused even
more on current events and inspired strong
reactions with films about the Talibans in
Afghanistan, Princess Diana’s death ten years
ago and about the array of tragic school massacres in the United States portrayed in the
Michael Moore film. In addition we began
broadcasting new series that achieved success
with our audience – about organised crime
and difficult medical cases, just to name a
few.
All these measures helped to lay a stable
foundation for the future. Sales are soaring
and viewership has spiked sharply upward.
Much will be new to our viewers in 2008;
we are planning a number of Swedish news
documentaries and will also fine-tune the
channel’s appearance with new graphics and
music.
An exciting year has passed and I am very
enthusiastic about 2008. The ranks of our
loyal fans will grow and we will provide them
with even more of what they want, including
my passion: true stories.
Photo: TV4
WE REACHED OUR GOALS
The secrets surrounding the September 11
attacks continue to fascinate.
– KAJSA STÅL, CHANNEL MANAGER
Channel name: TV4 Komedi
Startup year: 2006
Most viewed programme: Peep Show
there is something deeply satisfying in putting together an entire TV channel with the
basic purpose of making people laugh. TV4
Komedi has only been on the air for about
a year, but it has already discovered a good
combination of new and old, in several different genres.
Viewers who expected a humour channel
to offer British classics like The Young Ones,
Blackadder and Fawlty Towers were not disappointed. And I have not been disappointed
by a single one of the hundreds of episodes
of Cheers and Golden Girls that were aired
during the year. Buying the rerun rights to
Swedish comedies proved to be more complicated than expected, because of convoluted
production agreements, but we were still able
to show the hilarious C/o Segemyhr, and I
hope to find many more in the future.
But TV4 Komedi is definitely not just
about old familiar shows. Completely new
acquaintances for viewers include the quirky
Man stroke woman, standup from London’s
biggest comedy club Comedy Store, as well
as Australian sketch comedy Comedy Inc.,
and new episodes of the fake documentary
Reno 911, not to mention the reference-laden
Spaced. And I have to admit I’m proud of
being able to show Peep Show, which last fall
garnered both the Best male lead and Best
series awards at the annual British Comedy
Awards. And of course only on TV4 Komedi
could Swedes watch That Mitchell and Webb
Look, which won a British Bafta in the category Best comedy series.
These award-winning comedies show the
level of ambition at TV4 Komedi and our willingness to entertain an ever-growing and
ever-happier TV audience.
Photo: TV4
THE FUNHOUSE
Popular guys – Peep Show with Robert
Webb and David Mitchell.
– BO THÖRNWALL,
CHANNEL MANAGER
TV4 Group 2007 • 33
08-04-09 19.27.14
NICHE CHANNELS
Channel name: TV4 Guld
Startup year: 2006
Most viewed programme: Dallas
tv4 guld is currently the tv4 group’s
smallest channel with its limited technical
distribution.
But even small channels can be worth
their weight in gold and carry big programmes; in many instances TV4 Guld
qualifies as best of TV! The channel has a
dedicated and loyal viewership, irrespective
of whether taste runs towards the king of
soaps, Dallas or the British historical drama
I, Claudius, or the rolled up jacket sleeves
in the 1980s icon, Miami Vice.
In 2007 TV4 Guld-viewers were able
to attend Dr. Quinn’s wedding and learn
Japanese with Richard Chamberlain in
Shogun. JR Ewing was both shot and recovered in Dallas, evil alien lizards took over
planet earth in V and we saw Johnny Depp’s
career launch in 21 Jump Street. I was a
bit confused about what actually happened
with Ernst-Hugo Järegård’s irascible doctor
in Riket, and likewise I have my doubts
about who actually murdered Laura Palmer
in David Lynch’s Twin Peaks, even though
I sat glued to the television through every
episode, then as now! Sometimes the pace
was slow, as in Danish Matador, some times
frighteningly contemporary as in the battle
against the Mafia in the twenty-year old La
Piovra, and sometimes the biggest entertainment value lay in the large full-bodied
permanent in Murder She Wrote.
E-mail and phone calls from viewers
with requests, opinions and questions have
been numerous to the TV4 Groups viewers’
ombudsman, that has been fully engaged in
explaining how, when and why.
With this kind of involvement the future
is bright for TV4 Guld. Not only are these
classics worth seeing again, they are also
accompanied by heavy emotional
luggage: old memories,
nostalgia, actors who
have faded away
or perhaps moved
on to distinguished
careers.
There is so much good TV
left to show, and so many more who can
gain access to the channel.
Photo: TV4
SMALL CHANNEL, WORTH ITS WEIGHT IN GOLD
A real gold nugget – Dallas with JR (Larry
Hagman).
– BO THÖRNWALL,
CHANNEL MANAGER
THE YEAR OF CHANGE
Channel name: TV4 Sport with SPORT-Expression
Startup year: 2007
Target group: Men 12–59
Distribution/Scope: About 60 % technical penetration and 25 % awareness/penetration
Most viewed programme: Serie A:
Inter – Juventus (Nov 2007)
in the world of sport 2007 was
Ibrahimovic’s year. For the sport channel
jointly run by TV4 and Expressen it was the
year of change.
Up until 1 September the channel was called
TV4 SportExpressen.
On 1
September,
TV4 Sport
with SPORTExpressen was
launched – a channel with a similar name,
but with new content, appearance, broadcast location and management. A channel
in which TV4 Group AB increased its stake
during the year to more than sixty-five percent, with Kvällstidningen Expressen AB as
the other owner.
However, two important things did not
change.
Unlike our competitors such as Eurosport
and Viasat Sport, our channel is still a
Swedish sport channel, enabling us to broadcast sports exclusively intended for Swedish
audiences. In addition, the channel continues to be—in the context of television—a
unique collaboration between the channel’s
owners, with both contributing their expertise and marketing skills.
Thanks to a new distribution platform
the channel reached about half of all
Swedish households right from the start.
The station featured international top rights
such as Serie A
and La Liga in
football and
alpine competitions, as well as
local Swedish sport
such as Superettan
and the Swedish Football
Cup, Swedish hockey league
Hockeyallsvenskan and the remodeled
Superligan in floorball. Viewers could also
enjoy less common sports such as SOC in
table tennis, badminton, swimming, martial
arts and dance.
Viewers found their way to the channel
right from the start. During the fall the channel and Ibrahimovic attracted a peak viewership of 210,000 and the percent of viewer
time in the main target group consisting of
men aged 12–59 increased from 0.2 percent
to 1.3 percent compared with the same
period in 2006.
In 2008 the channel further will advance
these positions. We will see Swedish and
European football championships, a motor
sport and horse racing initiative, and of
course we will continue to present all the
sports we showed in 2007.
The goal remains high, just as it has
always been for Ibrahimovic. Seventyfive percent of all households will receive
the channel and it will of course become
established as the largest sport channel in
Sweden.
– JOHAN KLEBERG CEO TV4 SPORT
A SPACE ADVENTURE
Channel name: TV4 Science Fiction
Startup year: 2008
Target group: Men 15–59
Distribution/Scope: 15 %. Established in
Sweden and Finland, with aspirations for the
entire Nordic region.
34 • TV4 Group 2007
08-04-09 19.27.58
NEW MEDIA
NEW MEDIA – NEW BUSINESS
NEW TECHNOLOGY CREATES NEW BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES. THE WEB AND THE MOBILE ARE PAVING THE WAY
FOR NEW, EXCITING ADVERTISING SOLUTIONS, BRAND BUILDING ACTIVITIES AND DIRECT COMMUNICATION WITH
CUSTOMERS. IN 2007 THE TV4 GROUP WENT ON THE OFFENSIVE IN NEW MEDIA AND TOOK IN SEK THREE BILLION
IN ADVERTISING IN TOTAL, MAKING IT THE BIGGEST COMMERCIAL PLAYER IN THE VIDEO ARENA.
TEXT
ARNE WIRÉN
PHOTO
LINUS HALLSÉNIUS
“babyboom” is the name of the
conference room where Sales
Director Michael Grimborg and New
Media Director Mattias Fyrenius give
their reports on the past year. And what
could be a more fitting name for what is
happening in the TV4 Group right now.
A steady stream of new channels and
websites are popping up everywhere.
The latest is the ability to watch TV4
videos on the mobile. And it’s all paving
the way for new advertising revenues. A
record SEK three billion rolled in during
2007.
“We offer a unique platform,” says
Michael Grimborg. We offer a complete
smörgåsbord of products that we can
choose from together with the customer. Our strategy of launching new channels has worked. Others may criticize us
for losing market share, but thanks to
the niche channels the TV4 Group has a
viewership of twenty-seven percent.
“In TV4 Plus we offer inspirational
television, where viewers may sit by
themselves to enjoy programming such
as a fishing show. TV400 is for female
and youthful viewers with a tempting
line-up like Bridezillas. TV4 Fakta is our
documentary channel, clearly profiled
towards males with its offering of history and technology.
TV400 and TV4 Fakta each have
only one percent of the viewership,
compared with the TV4 channel’s
twenty-one percent. But since they are
niche-oriented they are strong among
specific target groups and therefore of
interest, according to the logic of the
media agencies.
“I think the TV4 Group is unique in
being able to offer so many solutions
and target groups for advertisers,” says
Mattias Fyrenius and enumerates the
four business segments: the general
channels, the niche channels, the local
tv and new media as represented by the
web and the mobile.
“Idol is an exciting example of programming that can be found in all four
segments. One of the main sponsors,
home electronics chain Dustin, has used
all four to convey its brand, and they
have been very satisfied”
Some follow the trends, others create them. Sales Director Michael Grimborg and
Mattias Fyrenius, Director New Media, know the value of being on the cutting
edge of technology.
» THE TV4 GROUP IS UNIQUE ON ITS ABILITY TO
PROVIDE SO MANY SOLUTIONS AND TARGET
GROUPS FOR ADVERTISERS. «
TV4 Group 2007 • 35
TV4a rsredENG_3537_NyaMed.indd 35
08-04-09 19.28.52
NEW MEDIA
Almost seventy employees answer
to Mattias Fyrenius: editors, reporters,
sales representatives and webmasters
who work on developing and creating
content online and in the mobile. It
is primarily the top TV hits Idol, Let’s
dance, Talang 2007 (Sweden’s got
Talent) and Bonde söker fru that have
expanded beyond being just TV shows.
“We’ve had as many as 400,000 visits per week to the Idol site and 50,000
» YOU HAVE TO REMAIN FLEXIBLE;
NO ONE CAN BE SURE WHAT LIES
AHEAD. «
in the mobile. Viewers can watch auditions, learn all there is to know about
the participants, their blogs, and view
clips – both those that were and were
not seen on television.
on this particular day champagne
was in order. The New media crew just
learned that they won the 2007 Telia
Surfport Award for best mobile service.
Doomsayers usually lurk in the wings
when a commitment is made to a new
enterprise, but Mattias Fyrenius hasn’t
run into any.
“It’s clear to everyone that this is
the route we have to take right now.
But it’s important to remain flexible,
because no one knows where developments may lead us. It’s a question of
trial and error to see what works.”
The online advertising market is
generally expected to grow by close to
25 percent in 2008, but the TV4 Group
expects significantly stronger growth at
its websites.
“For us, anything else would be a
disappointment. Currently we’re probably dedicating more resources to this
area than any other player. The web
and the mobile are paving the way for
completely new and exciting advertising solutions, brand-building activities
and direct communication with customers. Clothing chain Polarn o Pyret
came on board as a major advertiser
at tv4vadret.se. We adopted a format
in which they tailored the advertisement based on the forecast. It’s a
great example of how to simply and
creatively take advantage of such new
opportunities.”
Retailers are all the rage right now.
One after the other, they have discovered the possibilities offered by television. Chain stores such as Dressman
have been followed by H&M, KappAhl
(clothing chains), IKEA, Elgiganten,
Onoff (consumer electronics chain),
Intersport and several of the other
major chains that had previously only
done battle via direct advertising and
in the daily press.
“This is not a revolution, but an evolution. It is natural for them to come
on board at this time,” says Michael
Grimborg.
Two unexpected large clients in 2007
were Ellos and Mekonomen. In the
past, mail order company Ellos had
almost exclusively focused on mailings
to households and never advertised on
television. Apparently the results have
been overwhelming.
Mekonomen, the auto parts company that traditionally has mainly
had male customers, wanted to reach
women and broadcast commercials
on the TV4 channel both locally and
nationally for children’s car seats. They
sold 38,000!.
more and more clients are using the
TV4 Group’s Combo product, in which
commercials begin nationally but in
the same commercial add a local element to say where the product can be
36 • TV4 Group 2007
08-04-09 19.29.45
ON DEMAND
- ANY TIME, ANY WAY
CAN’T WAIT UNTIL TUESDAY TO WATCH HOUSE? WERE YOU TOO
TIRED TO WATCH THE DOCUMENTARY LAST NIGHT, BUT HAVE
SOME TIME DURING YOUR COMMUTE ON THE TUBE? THIS ISN’T
SCIENCE FICTION, IT’S TV4.SE/ANYTIME.
purchased. Interest has also been sparked
among individual retailers to move up to
video adverts.
As the technology has improved it has
become less expensive to produce such
commercials. And it’s reflected in the
sales figures: at nearly fifteen percent,
the local TV increased their sales most
during 2007.
“Even on the web advertisers are
increasingly using videos, and the New
media business area has not dragged its
feet in offering opportunities. Tv4.se,
which celebrated its tenth anniversary
in 2007, has in just over one year added
eleven “colleagues”, including recept.nu,
fotbollskanalen.se and tvplaneten.se.
these niche sites, near and dear to the
heart and soul of the TV4 channel, are
laced with video material. Technological
advances have provided the bandwidth
that makes online TV-quality viewing
possible. Broadband penetration has
now reached seventy percent. We are
incredibly well-positioned in this area.
We have access to and expertise on video
material. We are the largest commercial
player in the video arena,” says Mattias
Fyrenius.
tv4 anytime is the future of TV
viewing.
You decide when and how you
watch your favorite TV shows. Maybe
in your office chair in front of your
computer? Or on the mobile while taking the tube?
“We’re starting to see these behaviours and they are on a rapid rise. It’s
the same trend as in the US, and we
have to keep up. We intend to be just
as strong in this new world as in traditional broadcasting,” says Mattias
Fyrenius.
“I believe major sport and entertainment events broadcast live will remain
strong venues in traditional television
well into the future, while viewership
of series and films will undergo much
quicker change,” he says.
Tv4.se/anytime is like an online
video store, though just for TV4-productions. At the same time, the TV4
Group is trying out two different forms
of financing: news and documentaries
are financed through commercials
and offered free of charge, while viewers pay a monthly subscription fee of
SEK 49 to watch entertainment shows
without commercial interruption.
“Viewers can always record the programmes, but this entails some work.
We believe that people are willing
to pay SEK 49 for this service,” says
Mattias Fyrenius.
Viewers can even watch the upcoming week’s episode of House and Anna
Pihl.
“This phenomenon has virtually
exploded in the US. We wanted to
test it in Sweden and offer Anytime
users an exclusive product. One might
expect fewer viewers per episode
when it runs on TV, but so far it’s
almost been the reverse. Showing it in
advance has generated attention and
interest in the show.”
he believes that Anytime should not
be seen as a competitor to traditional
TV, but as a complement.
At your service round the clock.
“Young people are watching TV less
and less and spending more and more
time online. We want to stay abreast
with our viewers as they change their
behaviours and adapt accordingly.
Otherwise someone else will get there
first. We intend to be the leaders in
videos, no matter what the platform.”
So far only 20 to 30 percent of TV4’s
programmes are available on Anytime,
but the ultimate goal is to be able to
show everything available at the TV4
Group, according to Mattias Fyrenius.
“It’s all a matter of viewing rights.
To date we’ve only had the rights to
show purchased foreign material such
as films and series on TV. Now we’ve
entered into the first agreement with
NBC where we purchased the online
rights to Heroes and House, which
represents a breakthrough.”
Mattias Fyrenius does not rule out
the possibility in the future of commercial financing for all programming on
Anytime to avoid charging the users.
But this will requires us to develop
new forms of advertising. Traditional
TV advertising would not work here,
since viewers can always push fast
forward.
“We have to find an advertising
format that viewers do not see as disruptive. The time before and after the
programme – the short interval when
the user is occupied with starting the
playback – becomes even more valuable, if we can work with a message
that does not have to interrupt the
film, but is visible as a thin layer on
top of the webpage.”
TV4 Group 2007 • 37
08-04-09 19.30.31
INTERVIEW
MALOU VON SIVERS
“NOT BEING IN CONTROL WAS REALLY GOOD FOR ME”
Malou von Sivers, Martin Timell would like
to know if there is any programme on TV4
that you would like to take over. And if so
what would you do better than the current
presenter?
No, Malou did not respond with Äntligen
hemma and Deal or no deal…
Instead she said:
“What I would like to do is my own show,
Efter tio, but during prime time. This is one
of the programmes I am most proud of and
would like to have more people see. And I
would also like to see TV4 bring over Filip and
Fredrik…
The latter is typical Malou.
She wouldn’t be Malou if she didn’t have
opinions – and she has plenty of them.
Especially about TV4. She has chewed out
TV4, she has praised TV4, she has suffered
insomnia because she was so furious with
TV4, and she has thoroughly enjoyed TV4.
For seventeen years.
“I’ve loved working here, at the same
time that I’ve created a lot of fuss. About
salary issues or time slots or programme
ideas or commercial values or, well, there’s
always something. But that’s how it is with
someone you love and care about. And fundamentally it’s all about really loving my
workplace,” she says.
in many ways it is precisely this involvement that makes Malou who she is.
She came to TV4 after being sacked by
the magazine Elle “because I was pregnant;
they had never heard of an editor-in-chief
who could get pregnant”.
Malou was furious. Of course. She went
straight to the National Union of Journalists
and got a settlement. Of course. She
switched gears and studied to become a
presenter and was soon offered a job. Of
course.
“TV4 sounded so exciting, but success
seemed unlikely. Janne Andersson, who
is currently the ombudsman for viewers,
asked if I would be interested. I have always
enjoyed a challenge or starting from scratch
so, okay, I jumped on board.”
However, with the “Elle” controversy
fresh in mind, she showed her pregnant
tummy and was given the friendly advice to
APPRECIATED, ATTENTIVE AND INVOLVED PRESENTER. BUT ALSO OPINIONATED, ARGUMENTATIVE AND PROUD. MALOU VON SIVERS IS ENGAGING
AND DECISIVE. WITH HER SEVENTEEN YEARS AT THIS CHANNEL SHE’S AN
INSTITUTION, A FORCE TO BE RECKONED WITH IN THE WORKPLACE THAT
SHE LOVES. RELINQUISHING CONTROL IS NOT IN HER NATURE, AND SHE
WOULD NEVER HAVE BELIEVED THAT SHE WOULD LEARN THIS LESSON ON A
SLIPPERY DANCE FLOOR.
give birth first and the job would be waiting
for her…
After working on the news show
Nyheterna for a while Bengt Magnusson
took her aside one day and asked whether
the two of them should start a morning
show.
No sooner said than done.
“Margareta Schwarz from the newspaper Expressen was the first to come with a
review. She thought it was just as immoral
and reprehensible as serving Coca-Cola to
children for breakfast,” says Malou, who
after seven years of TV history later left the
morning show.
Without calling in sick a single day.
However, in that time period she became
involved in a wage conflict when she learnt
that Bengt was being paid more.
“We were the same age, both of us had
extensive experience, and we did the same
things. I was so furious I couldn’t sleep
at night. I was outraged! Not because of
the money, but because of the principle
involved.”
How did it end? Malou won. Of course.
winning – frequently – and maintaining
control – always – are the hallmarks of her
career. From her series on bullying, to her
meeting with Nelson Mandela, to her new
Malou’s book club. That’s why 2007 was
somewhat different. Early in the spring she
volunteered for Let’s dance, “which was one
of the scariest things I’ve ever done”. Not
just because she fell flat on her face during a
tango in front of two million viewers.
This could happen to the best of dancers;
well, maybe.
“Not being in control was really good for
me, because I’m so used to being in control
as a project leader and programme presenter.
So for me the programme also became an
inner journey,” she says.
She continues to dance in her spare time,
but hosts her daytime show, Efter tio, on
TV. When not on the air, but at work, she
tries to be accessible. Preferably over a cappuccino. Without a pastry.
“I live according to the principle ’work
at home and take a coffee break at work’. I
can’t concentrate as well at work. In general
I’m trying to slow down, scale back, meet
fewer people outside work. Meeting too
many people requires a lot of processing
and can be an energy drain.”
the viewer numbers for her show are
steadily rising, despite a tough time slot.
“Many think only pensioners watch the
show, but we also have those on paternity
or maternity leave, people who work odd
hours; and companies that leave the TV on.
And many people watch us online.
That pleases her.
“I see enormous potential in these new
platforms for exposure. The entire concept
of a parent activity, where you then use the
basic material to develop other platforms,
is exciting. Instead of taking on another
researcher I added a webmaster to my editorial staff. We have a great dialog with our
viewers and constantly receive feedback in
the form of stories, reactions, and associations.
And with her inexhaustible curiosity she
has just as much fun at work today as she
did twenty years ago. And talk about curious…
“Ask David Hellenius what he is most satisfied with. And if it is true that he was petrified of girls as a teenager…”
38 • TV4 Group 2007
TV4a rsredENG_3839_Malou.indd 38
08-04-09 19.31.25
My dream? Malou von
Sivers is used to sitting in
the interviewer’s chair.
And used to being in the
spotlight. Combine it with
dance, and voilà, you
have Cabaret.
TV4a rsredENG_3839_Malou.indd 39
08-04-09 19.42.35
TV4 SWEDEN
Comprises all TV4’s stations: Gävle, Göteborg, Halland, Jönköping, Karlstad, Luleå, Malmö,
AND NOW OVER TO…
OUR WEATHER SITE TV4VADRET.SE HAS PROVED HUGELY POPULAR. WITH ALMOST 200,000 DOWNLOADS PER
WEEK, THE RESULTS EXCEED ALL EXPECTATIONS. THE SECRET BEHIND THE WEBSITE’S SUCCESS IS LOCAL FOCUS
COMBINED WITH THE TV4 BRAND. ADD TO THIS OUR UNIQUE ADVERTISING PACKAGE AND SIXTEEN NEW LOCAL
WEBSITES, AND TV4 SWEDEN IS A RECIPE FOR SUCCESS.
TEXT
OLA LILJEDAHL
PHOTO
LINUS HALLSÉNIUS
as the man from remote
northern Sweden said:
Stockholm’s OK I suppose... shame
it’s in such an out-of-the way location.
Wherever we are, we’re at the centre of our own universe. It’s all a matter of perspective. The ever-popular
question, ‘What’s the weather like
tomorrow?’ illustrates this point very
well.
The staff at TV4 Sweden, which
had sixteen stations throughout
Sweden in 2007, know all about this.
It’s what makes our combination of
local focus and the TV4 brand so successful. Our editorial departments
are close to achieving the aim of
becoming a local medium to reckon
with – and our advertising department is noticing a daily increase in
interest in TV advertising.
Åsa Severed, CEO of TV4 Sweden,
reflects back on a successful 2007,
while recognising the potential for
2008:
“We’ve enjoyed outstanding
performance in recent years, both
with regard to news activities and
local advertising sales,” she says.
“The media landscape is developing
rapidly. Interest in local news is currently seeing a growth trend, both in
Sweden and abroad.”
tv4 has a long history of strong
local presence, and our premises are
often centrally located in the cities
where we operate.
“Ever since TV4 started, our activities have been regulated by a government agreement,” says Severed.
“This meant that our projects always
had a start and an end date. Since we
went digital in 2007, we no longer
have an agreement – so now there
are only start dates.”
TV4 Sweden’s new business model
and organisation will be fully operative in 2008. The new model will
place increased focus on businessmindedness, and will favour even
stronger local orientation. The num-
ber of unique news broadcasts will
increase from 16 to 24 locations.
“Our news broadcasts will be centralised. This means we’ll have more
news analysts in a greater number
of locations, and fewer broadcasting
technicians,” explains Severed. “Our
strong link to TV4 enables us to
develop unique advertising packages,
and to prolong and intensify our programme projects. We have excellent
collaboration with TV4 over local
news stories that go national, and
over customer solutions that include
both national and local advertising.”
josefin ziegler, TV4 Sweden’s editor-in-chief, comments:
“Local news is vital, since it’s the
news that effects people most. This is
also the news that viewers have the
most power to influence. Although
we’re an independent company, our
programmes are listed in TV4’s TV
schedule. As a result, viewers simply
see us as a locally based part of TV4’s
regular programmes.”
This makes collaboration particularly important.
“Every year, 1,200 to 1,300 local
TV news stories end up going national,” explains Ziegler. “Sometimes
their focus changes, and they may
need presenting differently when
they’re broadcast nationally. We’ve
collaborated very well over several
major news stories. However, it’s
important to remember that a local
news story won’t necessarily become
national. Gossip tends to be about
the most local news,” says Josefin
Ziegler.
”The weather is an important
feature in TV4 Sweden, both as a
news story if a heavy storm occurs,
and in the form of local weather
forecasts. TV4’s weather presenters
also present the weather on local TV.
The centrally located meteorology
presents the weather for western
Sweden, for instance, but we broadcast it.”
collaboration also works well
with regard to advertising, as shown
by an 11 % sales increase in 2007.
In 2007, Fredrik Ivansson, TV4
Sweden’s sales manager, saw the
birth of the hugely successful Combo
package, a new advertising solution combining national and local
advertising.
“Elon, the white goods company,
was one very successful advertiser,”
he says. “They ran a national commercial followed immediately by a
ten-second local commercial. Some
of the local commercials featured
an offer, while others simply advertised Elon’s local address. Combo’s
strength isn’t just about image
building; it’s also about attracting
people.” This concept of combining
local advertising with a spot on
Sweden’s biggest TV channel is unique.
“As a result, our seventy sales
reps almost always land a meeting
when they ring up prospects and
say ‘Hello, I’m calling from TV4...’
The response is enormous,” says
Ivansson. “It’s also interesting that
while we used to get only local sponsorship in our weather broadcasts,
now we also have a space in the DIY
show Bygglov, Äntligen hemma and
the comedy show Parlamentet.”
Like Severed, he also sees lucrative
collaboration opportunities with
the TV4 Group’s niche channels and
websites.
“We stand to benefit from the
web’s growing expansion. We work
with the same basic elements – videos – and aim to make customers see
the benefits of moving images compared with printed advertisements,”
explains Ivansson.
Sixteen local websites are now
being established and filled with
local news by people with local
knowledge and local focus.
Just like on the TV screen.
And then there’s the weather…
40 • TV4 Group 2007
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08-04-09 19.32.16
Norrköping, Skaraborg, Stockholm, Sundsvall, Umeå, Uppsala, Väst, Västerås and Växjö.
“WE’VE ENJOYED OUTSTANDING
PERFORMANCE IN RECENT YEARS, BOTH WITH REGARD TO
NEWS ACTIVITIES AND LOCAL
ADVERTISING SALES.”
Singin’ in the rain… TV4 Sweden’s CEO, Åsa Severed.
TV4 Group 2007 • 41
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08-04-09 19.43.54
THE TV4 GROUP
TV4 Group 2007: 750,000 phone calls to switchboard • 11,000 visitors • 28 million e-mails
HOW WE WORK WITH ENVIRONMENTAL
AND SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY ISSUES
IT’S EASY TO GET THE IMPRESSION THAT A COMPANY LIKE THE TV4 GROUP IS ONLY CONCERNED WITH RAZZLE
DAZZLE IN A TV AND INTERNET WORLD THAT REVOLVES AROUND CELEBRITIES. BUT BEHIND THE GLAMOROUS
FAÇADE IS A LIVING, EVOLVING COMPANY WITH HIGH AMBITIONS FOR BOTH ITS BUSINESS AND ITS EMPLOYEES.
TEXT
CECILIA GIERTTA
PHOTO
GUNNAR
SEIJBOLD
the tv4 group comprises thirteen TV channels and twelve
websites. In total, we have around
nine hundred employees. Our activities do not only affect employees; they
also affect millions of TV viewers and
website visitors.
The TV4 Group, with its TV channels and websites, is financed through
pay TV and advertising. Our business
receives no government funding; all
our activities are almost entirely paid
“OUR ACTIVITIES NOT ONLY AFFECT OUR EMPLOYEES; THEY
ALSO AFFECT MILLIONS OF TV
VIEWERS AND WEBSITE VISITORS.”
for by advertising revenue. We are
the only media house broadcasting
from Sweden that is funded mainly
through advertising. We do not
attempt to evade Swedish laws and
our social responsibility in Sweden by
broadcasting from abroad. We want
clients to get the maximum possible
benefit from advertising with us – and
there’s plenty of proof that it pays off
to advertise on the TV4 Group’s channels.
as a company, we are opposed to
children’s advertising. This approach
surprises many media market analysts, but for us it’s a natural choice:
we don’t support advertising that
directly targets children under twelve.
Meanwhile, we support Swedish
society and sports activities both at
elite level and in smaller, voluntary or
semi-voluntary organisations through
programmes such as Bingolotto. Over
the years, hundreds of millions of SEK
have been donated to sports activities
through the lottery show Bingolotto,
thereby also benefiting Swedish
society.
Our many talent shows, such as
Idol, also benefit Swedish society.
They give young, talented individuals
who might never have had the chance
to perform for a wide audience an
opportunity to showcase their talent,
even though they lack contacts. In
this way, we contribute to the next
generation of Swedish performers.
In general, it’s important for media
houses like the TV4 Group to take
their responsibility as employers and
society shapers. Much of what we do
affects society at large, and we take
this responsibility very seriously. In
2007, we continued our initiative
Nollrasismveckan (Zero Tolerance for
Racism Week). Racism is a problem in
Sweden that cannot be ignored, and
Nollrasismveckan is our way of combating all forms of racial prejudice.
through our environmental
efforts, we also aim to take global
responsibility.
In 2007, the TV4 channel ran a
two-week climate campaign with programmes featuring special climateoriented initiatives. For instance, ecofriendly cars were awarded as prizes
in Bingolotto. We also opened our
own website, klimatsmart.tv4.se, in
collaboration with the World Wildlife
Fund. Meanwhile, an internal environmental audit showed that the TV4
Group is pretty advanced in terms
of environmental consciousness.
Environmental initiatives include
giving employees in Stockholm the
option of borrowing public transport
passes instead of travelling by car or
taxi, a special ecofriendly taxi agreement, easily accessible environmental stations on our premises where we
collect all our waste, and ecofriendly
team cars.
Naturally, our environmental efforts
will continue in the future. We aim
to further improve our performance
on all fronts to reduce our negative
environmental impact. For instance,
environmental management is a main
focus point in our new travel policy,
and our printed material is produced
on ecofriendly paper. Showing environmental responsibility is a natural
choice for us, and we are delighted
to see that many of our collaborative
partners share our passion for environmental care.
internally, our objective is to
make the TV4 Group Sweden’s best
workplace. This isn’t just talk; we’re
taking active measures to achieve this
objective. In order to succeed, it’s vital
to for all our employees to continue
learning and developing. That’s why
the TV4 Group has instituted a unique
staff training centre covering a wide
range of topics from managerial skills
and how to detect employee burnout,
to learning about the new digital
terrestrial network and advanced
Swedish writing techniques. Over 750
employees attended courses at the
TV4 School in 2007.
the tv4 group has advanced skills
and planning procedures for detecting
and dealing with staff burnout and
stress, and we’ve had documented
success at rehabilitating employees
back to work. Our sick leave rate
decreased in 2007 and in our local
TV stations it was reduced by half.
The average age of our employees is
39 for permanent staff, and 37 for
total employees. The average service
duration for employees is 8.3 years.
We have a company psychologist and
a health team that monitors employee
health. All this is aimed at making the
TV4 Group Sweden’s best workplace
– and this ambition is reflected in our
TV programmes and our websites.
2007 was a successful year for the
TV4 Group. Financially, we achieved record results. We sold more
advertising space than ever, and
42 • TV4 Group 2007
TV4a rsredENG_4243_Fo retag.indd42 42
08-04-09 19.32.49
I en annan del av Köping.
Photo: Johan Idebring
• 14,000 programmes • 5,400 advertising spots • 2,800 trailers • 26,000 customer visits
Bonde söker fru.
WE WON!
THE TV4 GROUP AND ITS EMPLOYEES WON VARIOUS
AWARDS IN 2007. HERE ARE SOME OF THEM:
AFTONBLADET TV PRIZE
Hey Baberiba
– Comedy programme
Tilde de Paula – Female TV
personality
Bengt Magnusson
– News reader
Bonde söker fru – Docusoap
KRISTALLEN (AWARDS
SHOW)
Hey Baberiba
– Comedy programme
I en annan del av Köping
– Documentary
I en annan del av Köping
– Programme of the year
AFTONBLADET’S
READERS
Linda Hammar – Woman of
the year
Best TV Comedy and Best
Comedy Actor
Peep Show (TV4 Komedi)
THEFUTONCRITIC.COM
STORA
JOURNALISTPRISET (BIG
JOURNALISM PRIZE)
Bo Holmström – Lukas Bonnier
Big Journalism Prize
PROMAX BDA 2007
ACADEMY AWARDS
Visual design/Graphics
• TV4 channel graphics
GOLDEN GLOBES
Best Performance by an Actor
in a Television Series – Drama
House M.D. (2004)
– Hugh Laurie (TV4)
Best Performance by an Actor
in a Television Series – Musical
or Comedy
30 Rock (2006) – Alec Baldwin
(TV4 Plus, TV4)
BAFTA
Best Factual Series
Ross Kemp on Gangs (2006)
(TV4 Fakta)
EMMYS
Cecilia Giertta
Communications Director,
TV4 Group
BRITISH COMEDY
AWARDS
• The season’s last episode of
Lost ranked number one on
website thefutoncritic.com’s
highly prestigious list “50 Best
Episodes of 2007”
Best Achievement in Music
Written for Motion Pictures,
Original song
An Inconvenient Truth, (2006)
– Melissa Etheridge (TV4, TV4
Fakta)
Best Documentary, Features
An Inconvenient Truth, (2006)
(TV4, TV4 Fakta)
many of our initiatives on TV and the
Internet received strong publicity in
Sweden. It was also a challenging
year, due to various internal events
with consequences far beyond our
organisation. A programme director
was dismissed, and so was a highly
trusted employee. A paparazzo photographed one of our employees in
compromising circumstances – an
incident that had repercussions in
political circles and ultimately caused
an Under-Secretary of State to resign.
Such events test a company’s internal
mettle, but despite a period of turbulence, the TV4 Group survived with
its strength intact.
Outstanding Guest Actress in
a Drama Series
Law & Order: Special Victims
Unit (1999)
– Leslie Caron (TV4 Plus)
Outstanding Guest Actress in
a Comedy Series
30 Rock (2006) – Elaine Stritch
(TV4 Plus, TV4)
Outstanding Supporting Actor
in a Drama Series
Lost (2004) – Terry O’Quinn
(TV4)
Outstanding Lead Actor in a
Drama Series
Boston Legal (2004) – James
Spader (TV4)
TELIA SURFPORT AWARD
TV4 Mobil
• Best Mobile TV Idol and TV4
Nyheterna in Scandinavia
and the Baltic States.
TIDNINGEN MOBIL
(MOBIL MAGAZINE)
• Fotbollskanalen (Football
Channel) was elected the
world’s second best mobile
TV channel by Tidningen
Mobil (Mobil magazine).
VIDEO GALA 2007
Organised annually by the
Swedish Video Distributors’
Association (SVF).
• The second season of Hey
Baberiba was elected best
Swedish TV DVD.
• Idol 2006 was elected best
special TV show.
ALBUMS THAT WENT
PLATINUM (OVER 40,000
ALBUMS SOLD):
• Idol compilation 2007
• Carola ” I denna natt blir
världen ny”
TV4 Group 2007 • 43
TV4a rsredENG_4243_Fo retag.indd43 43
08-04-09 19.33.41
THE TV4 GROUP IN FIGURES
LARS JOHANSSON, CFO OF THE TV4 GROUP
WELCOME TO THE WO R
AT A COMMERCIAL MEDIA COMPANY LIKE THE TV4 GROUP, JOURNALISM ALWAYS GOES HAND IN HAND
WITH FINANCE. JOURNALISM IS THE NATURAL BASIS FOR EVERYTHING WE DO AND SAY.
PHOTO: DANIEL OHLSSON
Lars Johansson is responsible for the TV4 Group’s finances. Apart from being in
control of the figures, he likes the aroma of freshly roasted coffee...
IN THE ABSENCE OF government funding, we would sooner or later
annoy our owners unless the whole business paid its way. In other
words, unless the money was sufficient to pay wages and invoices
as well as providing a profit to compensate the owners and to enable the business to develop.
From a financial perspective, TV is exciting because transparency
is almost total. The day after broadcast, not only we but also our
1
customers and competitors know exactly how many men or women
of a certain age watched a particular programme. If an advertiser
with a new product wants to reach a specific target group, he also
knows where to go and how much it is worth. This results in a considerable focus on audience ratings. These guide advertisers’ appetite
for commercials in the different programmes, which determines the
profitability of various programme initiatives. It is like a spiral: more
viewers result in more advertisers, who provide more money for new
programme initiatives, which result in greater variety and better
programmes that in turn lead to more viewers. If all goes well this is
an upward spiral, but as with many economic theorems this unfortunately also works in the opposite direction.
The fact that the whole must be profitable does not mean that
every single programme initiative must be profitable. No, we produce and transmit some programmes that we know will not be
successful from a narrow investment perspective. Nevertheless,
we do so because we know that viewers want us to, because it
is important, because we want to try out new ideas or build our
brand. Breadth and a new approach are central components of
what we call commercial public service.
So these initiatives are justified by their contribution to the bigger picture, something that makes the TV4 Group unique or what
we call our DNA.
ON THE FOLLOWING PAGES, I shall try to illustrate in figures how we at
the TV4 Group think and run our business, how our deliberate focus
on breadth and variety is turned into rising sales and better performance. I shall try to show how our strategy of targeting viewers and
advertisers in several ways and through several media has to some
extent made us immune to the general reduction in watching the
Big 5 TV channels, i.e. the channels on the first five buttons of your
remote control.
The TV4 Group has transformed itself from a TV channel into
a media company that transmits TV in many different ways and
on many different channels, as well as being a strongly growing
presence on the internet. So far this has proved to be a profitable
strategy. If you browse through this report, you can see this for
2
yourself from our figures for 2007 .
WELCOME!
1
However, the good thing is that we can also see how many viewers their channels have.
2
If you want to read the whole Annual Report visit: www.tv4gruppen.se
44 • TV4 Group 2007
08-04-09 15.15.56
O RLD OF FIGURES!
TV4 GROUP, VIEWING SHARE, AGE 12–59
30 per cent
TV4 GROUP
27,6 %
25
TV4 C
HANN
EL 20
30
15
10
5
,8 %
Over the last few years, Sweden’s five main channels have lost sizeable
viewer shares to what is concisely referred to in the industry as ”other TV”.
The TV4 channel, currently Sweden’s largest TV channel, is among those
losing viewer shares to other TV.
In 2003, the TV4 Group launched its second channel, TV4 Plus. Since
then, the TV4 Group has developed into a diverse selection of niche
channels – a successful strategy that has raised our total viewing figures.
The TV4 Group’s channel portfolio now comprises 13 channels (including the TV4 Group’s Scandinavian channels), among them several of
today’s fastest-growing TV channels such as TV4
Plus, TV400, TV4 Fakta and TV4 Sport.
In this way, we have succeeded in balancing
the TV4 channel’s viewer losses with the growth
of all our new channels and, in principle, keeping
the TV4 Group’s overall viewer shares constant.
0
2000
2001
2002
TV’S SHARE OF ADVERTISING
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
TV4 GROUPS SHARE OF TOTAL TV ADVERTISING
OUTDOORS, 6 %
CINEMA, 1 %
RADIO, 4 %
TEXT TV, 0.2 %
TRADE PRESS, 9 %
TV, 25 %
POPULAR PRESS, 4 %
TV4 GROUP,
55 %
OTHER TV,
45 %
EVENING PRESS, 5 %
METROPOLITAN PRESS, 20 %
PROVINCIAL PRESS, 26 %
TV4 Group 2007 • 45
08-04-09 15.16.07
2007 – A VERY SUCCES
THIS DOES NOT MEAN THAT EVERYTHING WE DID WAS RIGHT OR THAT ALL OUR INITIATIVES WERE
A SUCCESS. TAKING RISKS MEANS BY DEFINITION THAT NOT EVERYTHING GOES ACCORDING TO
PLAN. BUT THE WHOLE WAS VERY SUCCESSFUL!
DISTRIBUTION OF INCOME
TV4 GROUP
OTHER 6 %
PAY TV 12 %
THE TV4 GROUP’S EXPENSES
SALES 8 %
ADMINISTRATION 9 %
OUR INCOME…
THE TV4 GROUP’S MOST IMPORTANT source is TV
commercials and web ads. Although 2006
was a good year and despite increasingly
tough competition, we succeeded in
increasing TV advertising sales by
3 per cent in 2007. The trick was
our broader menu with opportunities for offering advertisers exciting combinations of advertising
time on our various channels
and media. Market expectations
ADVERTISING 82 %
for 2008 are that all growth will
be online, which means that the
internet will become increasingly
important to us.
WE ALSO EARN MONEY from the distribution of our TV channels by players
such as Boxer, Com Hem and Telia. This is
called Pay TV income. As you can see, this
income rose by 41 per cent, compared with
the previous year. The income statement
item Other includes everything from ticket
sales for the “Idol” finals to sales of Carola’s
Christmas CD.
TRANSMISSION COSTS 83 %
PROGRAMMING COSTS 56 %
TRA
NSM
ISSI
ON
CO
STS
...
OTHER TRANSMISION
COSTS 28 %
FRANCHISE 7%
DISTRIBUTION 9 %
AND EXPENSES
Looking at expenses, you can see that our
biggest expense is programming - the TV
programmes transmitted on all our channels. This includes the costs of in-house
produced news and current affairs programmes and entertainment formats such
as Let’s Dance (Dancing with the Stars), as
well as commissioned drama series such
as Labyrinth. NBC Universals invoice for
House MD is also booked in this account.
A reliable and fairly simple way of
increasing profit in the short term would be
to cut programming costs. But the effects in
the slightly longer term would probably not
be as entertaining and we therefore argue
the exact opposite: by continuing to invest
3
money in our programming, we build further on our breadth and variety and consequently grow in terms of number of viewers
and sales.
DISTRIBUTION COSTS are the costs of getting our
various channels to you or your neighbour’s
home. Previously nearly the whole cost consisted of invoices from Teracom3. But with
the TV4 Group’s launch of more channels
and particularly with digital transmissions,
the number of distributors has increased.
More channels result in higher costs, while
the agreement with Teracom has become
cheaper thanks to digitalisation.
The franchise fee, i.e. the fee paid by
the TV4 Group in order to broadcast on
the analogue terrestrial network, has been
much written about by the TV4 Group and
others, and I can only state that it disappears with digitalisation and neither I nor
any of my colleagues will miss it.
In 2007, we launched seven new websites,
including recept.nu, fotbollskanalen.se,
tv4vadret.se and tvplaneten.se, as well as
eight new mobile services. Meanwhile, we
continued to build on our already established websites and brands, such as tv4.
se and Blip. We also relaunched our VOD
service4 TV4 Anytime. Overall, New Media
invested considerably more in this broader
offering than the previous year. These costs
are included in the item “Other transmission costs”.
Attractive programming on the TV screen
and on the internet is a necessary condition
for success, but not enough to reach out to
our customers. We therefore also have selling expenses.
In 2007, the TV4 Group’s sales staff made
more than 26,000 sales calls to present our
menu of advertising offers. Together with
the customer’s management and marketing staff, the TV4 Group finds new ways
of developing and growing the customer’s
Terrestrial broadcast service company owned by the Swedish government.
4
Video On Demand.
46 • TV4 Group 2007
08-04-09 15.16.11
ESSFUL YEAR
INCOME STATEMENT
INCOME
SALES AND EXPENSES
Skr
2007
2006
2 573 461
2 503 612
Pay TV
393 537
278 767
Other
176 936
180 565
3 143 934
2 962 944
Advertising
Total income
3 250 thousand swedish kr
3 000
Profit
2 750
2 500
EXPENSES
Transmission
Programming
1 162 200
1 089 436
Distribution
185 278
202 837
Franchise
145 060
394 482
2 250
2 000
2004
Other
transmission costs
579 894
492 118
2 072 432
2 178 873
Total
transmission costs
Selling expenses
218 082
188 668
Administrative expenses
238 212
201 246
2005
2006
2007
The black line shows sales and the red line expenses. You can see that the TV4 Group’s profit
has increased steadily over the past few years.
Associated companies,
other expenses
1 876
9 909
Total expenses
2 530 602
2 578 696
14 251
9 242
627 583
393 490
FINANCIAL ITEMS
PROFIT BEFORE TAX
business. This generates costs in the form
of wages, training, fuel and everything else
required to keep this energetic mechanism
in operation. Marketing costs, i.e. our own
advertising, brochures and sales materials,
are also included in this item. In pace with
increased competition and media buzz,
it is becoming more difficult and more
expensive to reach out and be visible, which
means that just like our customers we are
spending more and more on customer contact.
The residual item “Administrative expens5
es” includes everything from our premises
to support functions, such as finance, HR,
technology and law, that is, everything
required to maintain and develop our business5. This item includes both large and
small expenses, such as the cost of printing this Annual Report or the coffee I just
drank.
In addition to our subsidiaries TV4
Sverige AB, TV Fakta Nordic Oy and TV4
Sport AB, we own shares in a number of
other companies including GI Viktkoll
i Sverige AB and MMS Mediamätning i
Skandinavien AB. Our share in the income
of these associated companies is also shown
in the income statement.
Since we have built up fairly substantial
cash reserves over the years and have very
small loans, it is only natural that financial
items, i.e. the sum of interest paid and
interest received, make a positive contribution to profit.
Our good profitability means that we contribute substantially to the public purse and
our only hope is that this is well managed...
To find out how much the CEO earns, visit: www.tv4gruppen.se
TV4 Group 2007 • 47
08-04-09 15.16.12
STRONG BALANCE SHEET
THE POINT OF A BALANCE SHEET IS TO SHOW HOW THE COMPANY’S ASSETS ARE FINANCED BY OTHER
PEOPLE’S MONEY OR THE COMPANY’S OWN MONEY.
Advertisement
54,4 %
5
2004
Advertisement
60,0 %
2003
Advertisement
65,0 %
Advertisement
67,4 %
Advertisement
69,2 %
Total income
NATIONAL ADVERTISING REVENUE
AS A PERCENTAGE OF TOTAL
INCOME
2005
2006
2007
07
National advertising revenue has declined in
importance over the past few years.
THE TV4 GROUP HAS A VERY STRONG balance
sheet, i.e. it has much more equity than liabilities. Moreover, these liabilities do not bear
interest but are operating liabilities, which
arise as a result of our customers paying in
advance or our supplier invoices not having
fallen due for payment. A strong balance
sheet is a strength in negotiations with major
US film companies, which have a very strong
negotiating position and tough requirements
for customer credit rating.
As previously mentioned, more channels
and websites, as well as our ambition to
increase the technical quality of our transmissions and enhance the viewer’s experience, naturally also result in increased
requirements for modern technology. We
have increased our investments and consequently our non-current assets.
MODERN PRODUCTION AND TRANSMISSION equipment is an important competitive advantage,
but is also expensive to maintain. It is therefore important to carefully evaluate and cal-
BALANCE SHEET
culate the rationale for various investments.
The same goes for the programme inventory,
where all bought-in and in-house produced
programmes and series are stored until they
are broadcast. This is where the episodes of
Heroes that we have not yet broadcast are
stored alongside our in-house produced programmes about for example Carl Linnaeus
– programmes that have already been broadcast but will be repeated and therefore
still represent a value. To put it simply, the
balance sheet item “Programme inventory”
includes all the sports events, films and
series that currently await you as a TV4 viewer, to a value of SEK 370 million!
Nevertheless, this figure only includes
programmes for which we have a current licence. An equivalent amount, if not
more, is invested in future hits, such as the
next season of Heroes, the 2008 European
Football Championships or the 2009 World
Handball Championships. All these programmes are under contract but are not shown in
our accounts.
Thousand kr
31 Dec 2007
31 Dec 2006
Non-current assets
200
169
Programme inventory
370
397
Other current assets and
current receivables
1 003
740
544
494
Total assets
2 117
1 800
Equity
1 459
1 010
Cash
Non-current liabilities
and provisions
113
85
Current liabilities
545
705
2 117
1 800
Total equity
and liabilities
48 • TV4 Group 2007
08-04-09 15.16.15
GROWING CASH POSITION
HERE CASH IS KING! THIS CALCULATION IS MADE ON A CASH BASIS, WHICH MEANS THAT WE DO NOT
LOOK AT WHEN AN INVOICE WAS SENT BUT WHEN IT WAS PAID INTO OUR ACCOUNT.
THE CASH FLOW STATEMENT BEGINS with the TV4
Group’s profit and then goes on to look at
how the year’s activities affect cash at the
year-end. As you can see from the income
statement, profit before tax for 2007 was SEK
628 million, but cash only increased by SEK
50 million, which requires some comments.
Depreciation, i.e. the reduction in value
of the Group’s assets, is deducted in the
income statement. This does not affect cash
flow and is therefore added back in this cash
flow statement.
We have paid a lot of tax, as a result of a
good profit.
A growing business like the TV4 Group
requires more capital. For example, our
growing sales and invoicing mean that we
have more money owing to us from customers. In 2007, we also reduced our liabilities,
particularly our franchise liability, which
also led to an increase in working capital
and a reduction in cash flow.
We continue to purchase the rights to show
future programmes and we invested heavily
during the year in two of the things we consider entertaining and important: football
and drama. During the year, we invested
a large amount of money in the European
Football Championships, the Premier
Division of the Swedish Football League and
Arn. This is important for securing future
hits but has a negative impact on cash.
PRODUCING TV AND INTERNET CONTENT is increasingly a question of technology. Some of us
have a TV at home that the sales assistant
said was HD ready, but HD transmission
requires technical investments. These and
many other investments in new technology
that aim to enhance the viewer’s experience
are very expensive. You can see here how
much we have invested during the year.
To sum up, capital is used for investments
in both programmes and technology to
create opportunities for maintaining and
strengthening our position in the TV
market.
CASH FLOW STATEMENT
700 milj skr
53 MILJ SKR
600
373 MILJ SKR
628 MILJ SKR
500
400
300
167 MILJ SKR
200
97 MILJ SKR
100
6 MILJ SKR
50 MILJ SKR
0
Result
Depreciation &
Amortization
Change in
working capital
Tax
Investments
Other
Cash Position
TV4 Group 2007 • 49
08-04-09 15.16.19
THE TV4 GROUP MANAGEMENT
GARLIC & VESPA
I’M SURE YOU KNOW THAT TV4’S MANAGEMENT
TEAM ARE IN FULL CONTROL OF THEIR AREAS OF
RESPONSIBILITY. BUT WHAT ELSE DO YOU KNOW
ABOUT THEM?
JAN SCHERMAN
ÅSA SJÖBERG
CEO TV4 Group
“I’m a lavender expert and sometimes grow garlic”
Director of Programmes
“I have a cardboard box of souvenirs
that remind me of magic moments
with my TV colleagues”
MICHAEL GRIMBORG
CECILIA GIERTTA
MÄRTA RYDBECK
PETER LINDSTRÖM
Sales Director
“I love gadgets. But there’s one big
problem with them – the cables. At
home I label the cables clearly with
gaffer tape”
Communications Director
“My grandchildren are always in my
mind because of the coffee mug
they gave me with the text “The coolest grandma in the world’”
Distribution Director
“My taste for a certain English football team, whose emblem decorates
my room in various ways, is perhaps
sometimes rather narrow-minded”
Director of Channels
“An evening kayak trip followed by a
barbecue and red wine helps put the
day in perspective”
ANNAKARIN RUNESTAD
JONAS COLLSIÖÖ
JOHAN KLEBERG
GÖRAN ELLUNG
Human Resources Director
“I usually get the best ideas when I’m
out walking”
Technical Director
“Listening to Torgny Lindgren on my
iPod on the way to work is a good
start to the day”
Acting Director Niche Channels and
CEO TV4 Sport
“I always wear sneakers, I’m interested
in difficult Japanese street brands and
I’m a classic supporter of success”
Director of Programmes
“The instrument I play when my
batteries are low is a dented E flat
cornet”
KRISTINA LIDEHORN
LARS JOHANSSON
MATTIAS FYRENIUS
ÅSA SEVERED
Head of Legal Department
“I’m from Dalarna, I practise martial
arts and I’m an amateur DJ. I love
dancing and I studied law”
CFO
“Boats. I have plenty! With engine,
mast or those with paddels and oar.
And I still read the boat ads”
Director New Media
“I’ve developed a strange passion
for Italian two-wheelers spelt Vespa
or Moto Guzzi”
CEO TV4 Sverige
“My motto is that there is no bad
weather, just good and smart
clothes”
PHOTO GUNNAR SEIJBOLD
50 • TV4 Group 2007
08-04-09 15.31.26
TV4 AB’S OWNER AND BOARD OF DIRECTORS
THE TV4 GROUP – NOW WHOLLY-OWNED BY BONNIER
Since 2007, the TV4 Group has been a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Bonnier Group and is part of the Broadcasting &
Entertainments business area.
Bonnier AB is a family-owned media group based in Sweden
and comprises approximately 150 companies with 12,000
employees in over 20 countries.
TV4 AB, which is the parent company of the TV4 Group, was
delisted from the Nya Marknaden stock exchange in the spring of
2007, when TV4 AB’s owner Nordic Broadcasting Oy, owned 50%
by Bonnier AB and 50% by Proventus AB, requested redemption
of the remaining shares. In the late spring of 2007, Bonnier AB
acquired Proventus AB’s shares in Nordic Broadcasting and
consequently both Nordic Broadcasting and TV4 AB became
wholly-owned subsidiaries of the Bonnier Group.
TORSTEN LARSSON
Chairman. Born 1951, CEO Bonnier
Broadcasting & Entertainment.
Chairman since 2007, Vice Chairman
2005–2007 and Director 1998–2005.
INGRID DAHLBERG
JONAS ERIKSSON
ULF KRISTOFFERSON
RITVA RÖNNBERG
Director. Born 1941, previously head
of Kanal 1 Drama, CEO of Dramaten
and County Governor of Dalarna.
Director since 2005.
Director. Born 1967, Vice
President, Bonnier Broadcasting &
Entertainment. Director since 2007.
Deputy employee representative
(SJF). Born 1956, home affairs reporter at TV4Nyheterna. Employee
representative since 2007.
Employee representative (SJF).
Born 1963, medical reporter at
TV4Nyheterna. Employee representative since 2004.
DANIEL SACHS
TORBJÖRN SJÖGREN
MATS SUNDSTRÖM
SARA ÖHRVALL
Director. Born 1970, CEO, Proventus
AB. Chairman 2005–2007. Director
until 2008.
Employee representative (Unionen).
Born 1960, technical production
planner. Employee representative
since 2005.
Director. Born 1955, Director 2005–
2007.
Director. Born 1971, head of
Research and Development, Bonnier
AB. Director since 2007.
TV4 Group 2007 • 51
08-04-09 15.31.48
POPULAR PROGRAMMES
PEOPLE’S FAVOURITES
WHAT DID PEOPLE WATCH? WHICH WEBSITES DID THEY VISIT? IN 2007, 21,605 TV PROGRAMMES WERE SHOWN ON
THE TV4 GROUP’S CHANNELS! HERE ARE SOME OF THE MOST POPULAR PROGRAMMES.
Text: Malte Andreasson
HOUSE MD (Maximum audience 1,021,000 on
BONDE SÖKER FRU (Farmer seeks wife)
THE DOG WHISPERER
04/09/07)
The audience grew
as Greg House
struggled with everything from rabies to
a slipped disk while
constantly chewing
painkillers.
(1,733,000 on
19/12/07) The programme that never
has fewer than 1.2
million viewers once
again gave us an
unbeatable combination of love and
Swedish summer.
The TV4 Plus programme that barked
so much that the
screens rattled every
Monday. It just grew
and grew in popularity until it was close
on the heels of Kanal
5, SVT2 and TV3.
LEILA’S CHRISTMAS
DIRT (46,000 on 24/05/07)
TV ON TV (20,000 on 16/02/07)
And if you didn’t
know what to think
about a TV programme, you could
always hear the truth
from Crille in TV on TV.
(383,000 on 05/12/07)
Christmas sweets
have never been
redder and the icing
has never been
shinier than in this
yummy programme.
A full 1.8 million viewers watched one of
the programmes – and a maximum audience of
385,000 watched the same episode. Yum-yum!
WIRE IN THE BLOOD (1,058,000 on 02/09/07)
TV4’s most popular bought-in series is only shown
in four episodes a
year. On the other
hand, you get to
meet the four most
evil criminals of the
year. And Tony Hill,
the psychologist who
both understands
how they think and makes sure they are caught.
LET’S DANCE (Dancing with the Stars)
(2,181,000 on 12/01/07)
The whole of Sweden
was engaged in the
question of whether
Lasse Brandeby would
remain in the contest,
despite having asked
the viewers to be let
off in a live broadcast.
TV4 Plus showed a
spin-off called Dancing
with the Stars Plus and tv4.se had special coverage.
Courtney Cox returned to the TV screen
as the workaholic
Lucy, editor-in-chief
of the incredibly sleazy magazine DirtNow.
Only shown on TV400
in Sweden!
WALLANDER (1,594,000 on 22/04/07)
TV4 was co-producer
of this new film series
about Ystad’s own
favourite policeman.
A huge success of
course!
RECEPT.NU
TALANG 07 (Sweden’s Got Talent) (1,638,000
on 01/06/07)
This was the show
that no one reckoned on and suddenly
it had an audience
of 1.5 million.
TV4VADRET.SE
NYHETSMORGON (Morning news show)
(528,000 on 03/11/07)
This is how Swedish TV wakes up 365 days a year.
(289,000 on 26/11/07)
The website recept.nu
was launched just before Christmas, with Leila
as the main ambassador. The reception was
extraordinary – more
than ten million recipes
had been viewed by
New Year! Sticky cakes and saffron buns were the
most popular recipes of the year.
The summer’s low
pressure resulted
in high pressure on
TV4’s weather service. Soon tv4vadret.
se was just as talked
about as the holiday
rain. Hundreds of
thousands of people got updated five-day forecasts and viewed website visitors’ own weather
images on the web and on their mobile.
IDOL 2007
NOBEL DAY
TVPLANETEN.SE
(1,928,000 on
(1,592,000 on
10/12/07 at 20.15)
TV4 not only broadcast
the Nobel Prize Award
Ceremony, but also
updated the whole
coverage and covered the entire Nobel Day. Moreover, it broadcast the
Nobel Prize Award Ceremony in China through cooperation with three Chinese TV companies!
We already knew
that the Swedish
people love TV, but
now we also know
that they love to
keep an eye on
which programmes
are broadcast on
which channel. The website tvplaneten.se was
launched in the autumn and soon became a star
in the net sky.
07/12/07)
This show broke the
audience ratings,
voting, web and
newspaper placard
records and filled
the Stockholm Globe Arena to capacity. The
programme that makes pop stars out of postmen
once again showed our competitors who rules
the roost. Beware of poor copies.
Legally responsible publisher: Cecilia Giertta, TV4 Group. Editing: Kristina Svahn, TV4 Group, Kajsa Andersson, TV4 Group, Lotti Ander, OTW
Publishing, Jonas Nilsson, OTW Publishing. Production: OTW Publishing, www.otw.se. Cover image: Photo: Andreas Lundberg. From left to right:
Mikael Johansson, Ünal Baykal, Jesper Lindström, Emelie Kettunen, Ulrika Johnsson, Leila Lindholm, Bengt Magnusson, Jessica Almenäs, Ernst
Kirchsteiger, Anders Kraft, Lucette Rådström, Gry Forssell, Peter Jihde, Kristin Kaspersen, Adam Alsing, Linda Isacsson, Nina Valerie and in the TV
screen Peter Magnusson as Jan Scherman. Printing: Ruter, Laholm. Repro: Done.
52 • TV4 Group 2007
08-04-09 15.33.34
08-04-09 09.10.11
Photo: Andres Lundberg
08-04-09 09.07.30
08-04-09 09.11.16
The TV4 Group also includes: Nordic channels: MTV3 Fakta, Subtv Leffa, MTV3 Scifi, MTV3 Sarja. Internet: tv4.se, tv4nyheterna.se, tv4vadret.se,
tvplaneten.se, fotbollskanalen.se, recept.nu, tv4anytime.se, ekonominyheterna.se, blip.se, blipville.se, politikerbloggen.se, innebandy.se.
Mobile: mobil.tv4.se, mobil.tv4vädret.se, mobil.tv4nyheterna.se, mobil.fotbollskanalen.se, mobil.tvplaneten.se, TV4 Sporten.
08-04-09 09.08.23

annual report - TV4

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