
Swedish empire: SVT's sa Edlund J nsson talks ambition, adrenaline and live sports addiction International Womens Day 2021 focus By Heather McLean, Editor
Thursday, March 4, 2021 - 17:35
Print This Story
Hugely driven, ambitious and successful are terms well-suited to SVT's head of sports, sa Edlund J nsson. She has worked at the Swedish public broadcaster for over 20 years in a huge variety of roles, from reporter, anchor and commentator - being the first woman in the world to be a commentator on men's ice hockey on national TV - to project manager for news and the Olympics, head of online sports, head of sports development and project manager for the Swedish and European elections for the news department.
I seldom stay on the same spot for very long, Edlund J nsson says, explaining her career path at SVT. I look for challenges and I always wanted to oversee a whole organisation or department. In my eyes my role is the best job in the sports and media business in Sweden, with a huge variety of tasks on my desk every day.
Learn as much as you can about sports, production and broadcasting. Be the most curious person in the room, be brave and trust your instincts. And always be kind, that is an underestimated qualification
She adds that, the variety is the most exciting thing about her role as SVT's head of sports. We do everything from news to the biggest sports events for both linear TV and digital. One minute I deal with a complicated news story as publisher, the next minute I negotiate big sports rights together with my head of sports rights Jan Olsson, the best wingman there is.
Ultimately, the daily risks and challenges involved in dealing with live sports broadcasting give Edlund J nsson the adrenalin buzz she needs to stay motivated and keep pushing forward in her career.
She says: Sports and live television are without comparison the most exciting combination you can work with. You can plan all you want, but in the end, something might happen that turns all plans upside down.
sa Edlund J nsson with Detroit Red Wings hockey star Slava Fetisov during the Stanley Cup finals 1998 when she was working for Supersport at Canal+
A great story from last year was my team was about to broadcast [live] ice hockey when our commentator lost his voice right before face-off. I happened to be close by, so my commentator asked me to drive to the arena and take over. I thought it was a joke but went there, and minutes later I was on the air commentating on ice hockey, which I hadn't done in 15 years. Can it be more exciting?
Driving spirit
As head of sports, Edlund J nsson gets to compete in a fast-changing market and the competition for sports rights. I want to make sure that our big audience gets the best possible value for the public service fee, she says.
A significant example of this endeavour was the work she put into bringing the London Olympics to a Swedish audience. I was project manager and executive producer for the London Olympics for SVT, where I teamed up with (then head of production) Adde Granberg for the project, says Edlund J nsson. I wanted to bring every second of the Olympics to the Swedish audience, on all devices, both linear and digital. Today, that goes without saying, but ten years ago, no TV company did that. Adde (today CTO at SVT) is one of the smartest and most creative production people in the world and promised to help me on that vision if I trusted him on new production methods and new technology.
With a turnaround of less than one and half years this trust led to a big win at the Olympics. We at SVT did the first full-scale remote production in the world, using a fibre network, Edlund J nsson says. I remember our CEO constantly asking me about the non-existing OB vans and the non-existing master control in London. Our programming from the London Olympics is still the best-rated, by the audience, in the history of SVT [broadcast].
Commentating on ice hockey with professional commentator Jonas Andersson, sa Edlund J nsson can do it all
Kindness and competition
What advice would she give to other women looking to move into a role in sports broadcasting? Learn as much as you can about sports, production and broadcasting, she states. Be the most curious person in the room, be brave and trust your instincts. And always be kind, that is an underestimated qualification.
She also has a guiding philosophy: The Golden Rule is important to me, treat others as you want to be treated. I have tried to be friendly and inclusive during my career and I have felt I have been treated the same way, she says. At the same time, live sports and television are competitive fields, but if you are out there working, it means that you are part of the competition with a chance to win', meaning making your dream come true. It will take hard work, perhaps some sacrifices along the way, but only you can tell if it is worth it.
Playing to win
That love of competition and Edlund J nsson's passion for sport and journalism both began at home, playing a lot of sports while growing up in an, ice hockey-crazy town . Enthralled as a kid by TV coverage of international sports stars Bj rn Borg and Ingemar Stenmark, she also recalls her ten year old self being impressed by the dangerous work of foreign correspondents reporting from the Beirut barracks bombings in 1983.
I knew from an early age that I wanted to be a journalist, preferable a sports journalist on TV, she says.
SVT won the SVG Europe Award for Diversity in Sports TV 2020 for its gender-equal coverage. Here, sa Edlund J nsson is pictured holding the team's award
Edlund J nsson followed this up at secondary school with stints at the local newspaper, writing about sports, then studied journalism and television for three years. An internship at SVT follow
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
21/05/2026
Game Creek Video Columbia and Celtic, NEP Supershooter 8 will house onsite produ...
21/05/2026
Freshly graduated, this upstart producer, director, and camera operator is already working as an AP on videoboard shows for the Philadelphia Phillies
In the li...
21/05/2026
Media Links has announced a channel partnership with Clearcast Asia, a broadcast...
21/05/2026
SiriusXM and NASCAR have announced a multi-year renewal of their broadcasting agreement. SiriusXM will continue to carry live broadcasts of every NASCAR Cup Ser...
21/05/2026
Audio-Technica held a demonstration event at its Technica House location in New ...
21/05/2026
Ateme has announced that RTL Deutschland has selected Ateme's software-based...
21/05/2026
LiveU has announced that BCC Live deployed the LU900Q intelligent production unit for the first time during the 2026 Memorial Hermann IRONMAN Texas North Americ...
21/05/2026
ATSC has announced that Mark Aitken, President of ONE Media and Senior VP of Advanced Technology at Sinclair Broadcast Group, will receive the 2026 Mark Richer ...
21/05/2026
BBright has published a technical analysis of the Media eXchange Layer (MXL), de...
21/05/2026
The Esports Foundation has announced that the 2026 Esports World Cup (EWC) will be hosted in Paris, France, from July 6 through August 23. The event marks the f...
21/05/2026
Chyron has announced PRIME Scorebug, a scorebug solution built on the PRIME Platform for on-premises sports production, and has expanded Chyron LIVE with purpos...
21/05/2026
Media Links has announced the integration of its Xscend IP transport platform with Skyline Communications' DataMiner xOps platform. The integration will be ...
21/05/2026
As live sports productions continue to demand more flexible, scalable, and cost-...
21/05/2026
In advance of this year's Sports Emmy Awards, SVG is taking a deep dive into...
21/05/2026
Hey Miami & Atlanta post-production folks!
Shade is hosting a free private suite at a Braves game (6/2) and Marlins game (6/5) and have about a dozen extra tic...
21/05/2026
The Suns and Mercury become the first NBA and WNBA teams to make games available under a single broadcast partner across both over-the-air and streaming....
21/05/2026
iPhones are part of the the regular production rotation for Friday Night Baseba...
21/05/2026
In advance of this year's Sports Emmy Awards, SVG is taking a deep dive into...
21/05/2026
Heather Matarazzo as Dawn Wiener in Todd Solondz's Welcome to the Dollhouse...
21/05/2026
Spotify has always been about helping you find something you want to listen to. And over the years, we've learned your taste and the moments that matter to ...
21/05/2026
Getting concert tickets today can feel like a race you're set up to lose.
You show up at the right time, refresh endlessly, and still miss out. Too often, ...
21/05/2026
In 2022, Spotify entered a new chapter by introducing audiobooks to our platform. Since then, we've grown our catalog to include more than 700,000 titles, e...
21/05/2026
Opening remarks
ALEX
Good morning everyone, I'm Alex [Norstr m].
GUSTAV
And I'm Gustav [S derstr m].
ALEX
Whether you've been following our j...
21/05/2026
Today, Spotify hosted our third Investor Day in New York City, offering the fina...
21/05/2026
Spotify hat heute seinen dritten Investor Day in New York City veranstaltet und der Finanzwelt tiefere Einblicke in das Gesch ft, die Produktstrategie und die l...
21/05/2026
Aujourd'hui, Spotify a organis son troisi me Investor Day New York. En pl...
21/05/2026
Oggi, a New York City, Spotify ha presentato il suo terzo Investor Day, offrendo...
21/05/2026
Hoy Spotify celebr su tercer Investor Day en Nueva York, donde ofrecimos a la c...
21/05/2026
Hari ini, Spotify menyelenggarakan Investor Day yang ketiga di New York City, me...
21/05/2026
2026 : (Investor Day) , , . ...
21/05/2026
Hoje, o Spotify realizou seu terceiro Investor Day em Nova York, oferecendo co...
21/05/2026
Spotify Investor Day ...
21/05/2026
Spotify bug n, 20'nci y l d n m m z kutlad m z bu y lda, finans camias na, i modelimiz, r n stratejimiz ve uzun vadeli vizyonumuz hakk nda daha detayl ...
21/05/2026
Two new Story Packs join orchestral instrument line-up
Sonuscore have just introduced two new additions to The Score, marking the instrument's first maj...
21/05/2026
30,000 samples, 99 presets & 504 loops
Heavyocity are well known for their hard-hitting cinematic instruments, and their latest release is no exception to t...
21/05/2026
Rohde & Schwarz AI powered voice to data: The future of air traffic control take...
21/05/2026
SKY RAIDER II INTERNATIONAL's modular open systems architecture delivers expanded operational reach and mission flexibility....
21/05/2026
ASO-enabled WESCAM MX-10 systems conduct systematic wide-area maritime search patterns, autonomously managing sensor scan operations to expand coverage, reduce ...
21/05/2026
HBO Max, a new addition to Gracenote Data Hub, is home to the most sports programming among major streamers
NEW YORK May 21, 2026 New analysis by Gracenote...
21/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
21/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
21/05/2026
The UK's leading event for the creative industries united thousands of professionals for two days of networking, debate, industry insight and getting hands-...
21/05/2026
Recreating Doug Trumbull's Slitscan VFX - After Effects Mastery
Graham Quince May 21, 2026
0 Comments
In this After Effects tutorial, I'm divi...
21/05/2026
Cavalry: An Array of Fun Stuff
Simon Ubsdell May 21, 2026
0 Comments
Arrays are a really powerful feature of Cavalry and here we'll go over some o...
21/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...