STOCKHOLM Swedes’ perceptions of public service broadcasting are increasingly divided.
The one I interviewed in middle-class Liljeholmen Sofia Häggbom is one of the staunch supporters of public service broadcasting companies.
– It is necessary for everyone to have access to information and TV offerings. I’m worried that the supply will decrease. For example, that there are not as many pro-LGBT programs. I’m quite afraid of it. That not everyone is represented, Häggbom reasons.
Håkan Guldkula on the other hand, was on the move in the most prosperous district of Stockholm, Östermalm. His view of media companies operating with tax funds is the opposite.
– We have to look at how productive they are, that’s important. I know that there would be a lot of work to do, Guldkula assures.
Concerning the coming years of Swedish broadcasting companies the report was completed last week and the same division into two can be seen in it as well. The working group had members from all Swedish parliamentary parties.
Now, especially, the policies on the financing of the public service were divided according to the line of demarcation between the right-wing government and the Sweden Democrats who support it, and the opposition. Up until now, both Sweden and Finland have been aiming for uniformity.
The representatives of the government’s support party, the Sweden Democrats, have the most critical attitude towards public broadcasting companies.
– I think it is unreasonable that we in Sweden spend so much money on public service media companies, when other countries around us spend significantly less, Swedish Democrats MP Alexander Christianson said in an interview with SVT after the presentation of the report.
Unlike other Nordic public radio stations, Sweden has divided the tasks into three parallel companies. There is one company in Finland, Norway, Denmark and Iceland.
A continuous saving cycle awaits
In Sweden, it has long been a tradition that the budget of broadcasting companies increases annually by two percent, i.e. by the Bank of Sweden’s inflation target. In general, it has meant that the funding remains unchanged.
However, in recent years, the model has not worked, for example, because inflation has shot up to more than ten percent at its worst. In practice, it has meant that both the TV company SVT and the radio company SR are currently living on austerity.
In October, SVT announced new cuts, as a result of which expenses will be cut by a total of 35 million euros. The number of jobs will decrease by 70–80.
SVT has a total of 2,100 employees and an annual budget of more than 470 million euros.
Swedish radio SR’s latest savings package is from this spring. Last year, the total amount of SR’s budget was 275 million euros. 20 million euros will now be cut from it on an annual basis. The number of employees will decrease by two hundred, i.e. to 1,800.
by Michael Lempert according to that, the viewer and listener will notice the offer.
– They have weakened quite a lot and it is probably due to these implemented savings.
Government and opposition on different lines
Now the representatives of the working group’s governing parties and the Sweden Democrats propose that the allocation would be increased by three percent in 2026, two percent in 2027–2030, and in the final years 2031–2033 the increase would be one percent.
In the dissenting opinion of the opposition parties, the companies would first receive a level increase of a total of 30 million euros and then in 2026 the increase would be three percent, in the years 2027–2030 it would decrease to 2.6 percent and in the years 2031–2033 the allocations would be increased by 2.3 percent.
Differences in political views seem like small tenths of a percent, but in practice they are not. For example, in 2030, the current government parties’ budget proposal for broadcasting is 906 million euros, and the opposition’s is 961 million euros, i.e. the difference is just under 55 million euros.
In 2033, according to the government parties’ calculation method, the allocation is 934 million euros, the opposition’s 1029 million, so the difference has grown to 95 million euros.
According to the director of SVT, the cut in appropriations would reduce the program offering
For example, the CEO of SVT Hanna Stjärne has stated in his first comments that the model of the governing parties would undoubtedly affect program activities and would mean a continuous reduction of activities from the current one.
Stjärne and other public broadcasting directors have reminded that after Russia’s attack on Ukraine, the security situation has changed decisively and requires new tasks and readiness from Swedish public broadcasting companies as well.
In addition to funding, the working group also took a position on program offerings. According to it, public broadcasting companies should serve both broad audience groups and small special audiences. In practice, it means that no program types are cut off and the grounds for, for example, cultural programs for small audiences exist.
According to the report, the companies can operate on all broadcasting platforms, but the main part of the resources must be used for sound and moving images.
The model of three companies continues
The mandate of the parliamentary group, which has now finished its work, did not include the question of changing the company structure so that instead of three companies, operations would be centralized into one broadcasting company, as in other Nordic countries. Now there are three companies, namely the TV company SVT, the radio company SR and Utbildningsradio, which is responsible for educational programs.
Supporters of the current decentralized model have appealed to the news competition, which is well served by the current companies with their separate TV and radio news outlets.
According to the unifiers, savings could be found if administrations and procurement were combined.
No decisions or policies were made. Only the chairman Göran Hägglund expressed the hope that the matter would be clarified in the future.
Recent research: Swedes trust public service TV offerings
The University of Gothenburg is conducting extensive surveys and on Wednesday it was announced a survey of Swedes’ relationship with their broadcasting companiestheir use and reliability.
The survey conducted last autumn reflects the same as the parliamentary working group.
Last fall, 73 percent of all respondents trusted the content offered by the television company SVT. However, the dividing line between those who support the left and the right has split. Among those who support the left, the trust was 86 percent, among those who support the right, 60 percent.
However, the difference is not visible in following the news, as in both groups 68 percent said they watch the news every week or more.
The Gothenburg study also shows that the Sweden Democrats are left alone with their demands to narrow the supply of public service media companies. Only ten percent of respondents agreed. 67 percent of the respondents considered either bad or very bad the proposal that the offer should be limited to only news and programs for small audiences.