Innovative ideas push Sweden's SVT forward during crisis and help take it ahead into 2021 By Heather McLean, Editor
Monday, December 7, 2020 - 14:59
Print This Story
SVT worked with the local organisation committee and the Swedish Ice Hockey Federation to secure this arena and make it COVID-safe for reporters, crew and athletes
As Europe went into lockdown earlier this year, one country stood out for choosing not to. While various restrictions were put in place and live sport was cancelled in Sweden, life was able to carry on as normal in more ways than many other countries experienced.
However, at Swedish national public television broadcaster SVT, the lack of live sport put them in the same position as all the other sports broadcasters in Europe.
sa Edlund J nsson, head of sports at SVT, explains to SVG Europe what happened in the early days of the pandemic: In the spring, Sweden never went into lockdown in the way other countries in Europe did. We, of course, had a lot of restrictions, among them restrictions around public gatherings, and from late March sports were not allowed to have more than 50 people in the stands. With that regulation, and with the pandemic hitting Sweden hard, no sports were played for almost three months.
I am so proud of my department; they never hesitated to switch over to news when sports shut down
The Swedish championship finals in ice bandy were played on 21 March in front of empty stands. Those finals were the last live sports to be played in Sweden for several months.
Edlund J nsson goes on: For us at SVT Sport this meant we had no live sports to broadcast and basically only COVID-19-related sports news to report on for our sports news programmes and online. Almost from one day to another we had to change the whole operation at the sports department and come up with a bunch of new ideas.
From sport to news and current affairs
Early on in the pandemic, the sports department turned to another genre to keep viewers entertained. In the middle of March, when almost all sports were shut down, the director of SVT news and the sports division, Anne Lagercrantz, asked Edlund J nsson if the sports department, could do something on the weekends since you will not be airing sports for a while .
Edlund J nsson immediately said yes and made a quick sketch of a new TV format. This was a news and current affairs programme, summarising the news week and answering live questions about COVID-19 from TV viewers, on air for three hours every Saturday and Sunday morning.
We wanted to be in command of things despite the new situation. I wanted the sports department to feel and know that we acted, that we were not sitting on our hands
I showed the brief to a project manager, talked to some members on the staff and five days later we were live with the first episode, Edlund J nsson says. Then we went on broadcasting the new programme, called Helgstudion (The Weekend Show), for 11 weeks.
The programme was so well received by viewers that we were asked to continue broadcasting the programme this autumn together with the news department, adds Edlund J nsson. What people really appreciated with Helgstudion was that we used the sports tonality when covering news and really gave time for people to explain when interviewed.
She continues: I am so proud of my department; they never hesitated to switch over to news when sports shut down. The department showed all that we are true professionals not only' sports journalists, and the SVT sports department was seen as an inspiration to other sports journalists in Sweden.
Staff from the sports department also went to join the news department at the start of the pandemic, as it found itself in the opposite situation to the sports teams. Says Edlund J nsson: When the pandemic hit both sports and society, we had a sports department with permanent staff, but they had no live sports to cover. At the same time the news department was working hard around the clock, so they asked if we could help out. I said yes, we can', and before I knew it we had around 30 people from the sports department working for the news department. Two of our cameramen also offered to produce the daily press conferences with the Public Health Authorities, a TV signal that was offered to all media companies in Sweden.
The outdoor SVT studio from the biathlon season opening in Sweden
International interest for new sports format
Another new idea was actually able to bring live sports back to TV for a limited time; SVT Sports created a new initiative alongside some federations in April with the creation of a TV format called The Challenge. This saw the two best players in tennis, table tennis and padel facing each other in a best of one game' challenge. These events followed all regulations in Sweden and were COVID-19 safe.
Notes Edlund J nsson: These events were the only live sports aired on television at this time. We even got international interest for the tennis and table tennis matches and I know that those matches were streamed on international platforms.
From the beginning of the crisis, SVT decided to take control of the situation it now found itself in. Explains Edlund J nsson: We wanted to be in command of things despite the new situation. I wanted the sports department to feel and know that we acted, that we were not sitting on our hands. It was important to me that everyone felt needed, that everyone had the right information about the situation and that we helped wherever needed within SVT.
We also wanted to make sure that the TV audience had sports to watch, even if it was different than normal, she continues. Therefore we tried to be as creative as possible, even though times were affecting us. And it was very important that we kept on bringing the sports news to everyone, both on linear TV a
Most recent headlines
04/08/2024
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, is excited to announce Santiago Solanas as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO)....
03/06/2024
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, a...
07/05/2024
PORTSMOUTH, N.H. New findings from Hub Entertainment Research provides extensive data showing that the majority of consumers will opt for lower cost ad-supporte...
07/05/2024
NEW YORK The Library of American Broadcasting Foundation (LABF) has announced th...
07/05/2024
CBS News has named Lindsey Reiser an anchor and correspondent for CBS News 24/7, the network's live, streaming news service. Reiser, who was most recently a...
07/05/2024
NEEDHAM, Mass. After more than two years of decline, worldwide tablet shipments posted modest year-over-year growth of 0.5% in the first quarter of 2024 (1Q24),...
07/05/2024
ESPN is reporting that April was a record-setting month as the network delivered its best April prime time audience on record, dating back more than 30 years....
07/05/2024
WASHINGTON, D.C. The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) has announced that Kirsten Donaldson has joined NAB as vice president of public policy. Donaldso...
07/05/2024
The Bulls are back home again this week from May 7-12! Don't miss out on any...
06/05/2024
By Ilyse McKimmie
Now, more than ever
That's a phrase so often used in the last few years that I've come to dread seeing it in notes like this one. A...
06/05/2024
alt= class=wp-image-12099 data-lazy-src=/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Blog-Exabyte-Storage-Demand-960x540-1.jpg/> Demand for storage solutions has reached unprece...
06/05/2024
Around the world, Asian and Pacific Islander (API) artists continue to impact mu...
06/05/2024
Spotify is making it easier for booklovers to count down the days, hours, minutes, and seconds until a new audiobook releases. With Countdown Pages for audioboo...
06/05/2024
Get Ready to join Dan Hong as he hits the streets in his ultimate culinary journ...
06/05/2024
In this video, cinematographer Simon Rowling welcomes viewers behind the scenes as he lights a daytime-interior scene inside a coffee shop. Shooting on Panavisi...
06/05/2024
L3Harris is well positioned to support the complex and multifaceted nature of special operations forces in all domains through our agile and responsive technolo...
06/05/2024
OAKVILLE, Ontario As part of Emergency Preparedness Week, Alert Ready, Canadas national public alerting system, will be distributing a test alert to Canadians i...
06/05/2024
NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. Horowitz Research has released a new study on the viewing and media habits of U.S. Hispanic/Latine audiences that shows a dramatic decline in...
06/05/2024
RE:Vision Effects Autograph 2024.4 released! 50% Off Through May 9th
Brie Clayton May 6, 2024
0 Comments
New game-changing motion graphics & VFX featu...
06/05/2024
NBC has renewed Night Court for a third season. The courtroom comedy was on the network from 1984 to 1992, and NBC rebooted it in early 2023....
06/05/2024
ABC has revealed its summer schedule. The Bachelorette gets going Monday, July 8, with Jenn Tran the star in season 21. Celebrity Family Feud starts up Tuesday,...
06/05/2024
It's almost go-time for the Holly Springs Salamanders! The season opener is ...
06/05/2024
Tonight on Skeem Saam: Kobus busts Pretty in a compromising positionDon't miss Monday, 6 May's riveting episode of South African soapie Skeem Saam on SA...
06/05/2024
Tonight on House of Zwide: Bra Zakes and Sphamandla agree to leave Tembisa and n...
06/05/2024
RT has announced details of its coverage across digital, TV and Radio in the ru...
06/05/2024
For years, radio stations have used on-premises servers to broadcast content and manage automation, traffic, and billing systems. As technology continues to adv...
06/05/2024
06 May 2024
AI and Big Data Take the Centre Stage in Central Asia at Beetech 20...
06/05/2024
FIRST LOOK AT JIM PARSONS & MAYIM BIALIK REPRISING THEIR ROLES FROM THE BIG BAN...
06/05/2024
NBC Sports and Churchill Downs Extend Historic Partnership, Kentucky Derby to Be...
06/05/2024
Beverly Hills Aerials, LIV Golf Make Australian-Broadcast History by Flying Live...
06/05/2024
Back to All News
Watch the Trailer for A Part of You - Felicia Maxime, Edvin Ry...
06/05/2024
Leadership in 12G-SDI for low impact migration to 4k production...
06/05/2024
Press release - 6 May 2024 07:31
STATEMENT CONCERNING EUTELSAT GROUP'S GROUND NETWORK Facebook
LinkedIn
Twitter
Download as PDF
Paris, 06 May 2024 ...
06/05/2024
Tyngsboro, Mass. - May 6, 2024 - Join us at InfoComm 2024 to experience the latest advancements in live production technology. From June 12-14, 2024, at the Las...
06/05/2024
To champion global movements to protect and advance equality for LGBTQ+ communities, Apple is introducing a new Apple Watch Pride Edition Braided Solo Loop, ava...
06/05/2024
Actress Matseliso Mohale has joined Muvhango'Talented actress Matseliso Mohale has joined SABC2's soapie Muvhango' as Vhangani's lover and a c...
06/05/2024
Tonight on Smoke and Mirrors: Leroy refuses to give up fighting to bury MthethoDon't miss Monday, 6 May's riveting episode of South African soapie Smoke...
06/05/2024
Intrinsic, a software and AI robotics company at Alphabet, has integrated NVIDIA AI and Isaac platform technologies to advance the complex field of autonomous r...
06/05/2024
Cybersecurity experts at the RSA Conference this week will be on the hunt for ways to secure their operations in the era of generative AI.
They'll find man...
06/05/2024
1) What is the rationale of the transaction? What is the benefit for SES shareholders?
This combination creates a stronger and more competitive multi-orbit ope...
05/05/2024
A special evening performance by multiplatinum singer Becky G will provide a memorable conclusion to TeievisaUnivision's Casa Cultura upfront event on May 1...
05/05/2024
Giant media buyer Publicis is telling network sales executives that it does not think Nielsen's new panel-plus-big-data currency is ready for this upfront....
05/05/2024
WASHINGTON Glenn Kirschner, legal analyst at NBC News, blasted the media for referring to the New York trial of former President Donald Trump as a hush-money ...
05/05/2024
Catchy Comedy's weekend marathon sees The Beverly Hillbillies on the weekend of May 4-5. The event kicks off Saturday, May 4 at 11 a.m. ET, and runs through...
05/05/2024
NBC Sports has the 150th Kentucky Derby Saturday, May 4. The coverage begins at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock and the feature race at Churchill Downs in Louis...
05/05/2024
Back to All News
Netflix Announces New Comedy Series Roosters, Starring Jeroen ...
05/05/2024
Back to All News
Showdown Alert: Baki Hanma VS Kengan Ashura' Drops Electr...
04/05/2024
NEW YORK As the Asian Pacific American Heritage Month kicks off in May, Nielsen has released an extensive new report diving into their media habits with data sh...
04/05/2024
PHILADELPHIA As National Military Appreciation Month gets underway, Comcast has announced several new initiatives to help veterans, service members, and their f...
Innovative ideas push Sweden's SVT forward during crisis and help take it ahead into 2021 By Heather McLean, Editor 
