[ SVT World ]
Company File
T
elevision has always been a great way for expats and Swedophiles to keep up with events, culture and language from the old country. For the past 25 years, SVT World, the international channel from Sweden’s public service broadcaster SVT, has been providing Sweden’s top programs to viewers abroad, from Majorca (Spain is currently their biggest market) to Munich via satellite.
Äkta Människor
However, it’s only since December 2009 that viewers in the US have been able to access the service, via IPTV, and to encourage new subscribers in North America, and to celebrate their 25 year anniversary, SVT World is offering the required Settop-box (worth USD154) for free to all new US customers who order a 1-year subscription. (Visit www. connova.se for further details about subscriptions.) SVT World broadcasts the best drama series, documentaries, reality shows and talk-shows from SVT1, SVT2, Barnkanalen and Kunskapskanalen, 24 hours a day, with prime-time shows adjusted to viewers’ time zone. However, North American viewers also have a ‘catch-up’ function, allowing
Allt för Sverige
viewers to watch anything that’s been shown in the past 48 hours, anytime. ‘You can be watching Melodifestivalen at the same time as your friends back home in Sweden,’ says SVT World’s David Hagen. And while hit shows like The Bridge may be snapped up by other foreign networks later, you’ll always see them first on SVT World. (Nb. the streaming website SVT Play only shows locally in Sweden, so is no substitute for SVT World.)
Bron
Frequent travellers can even take their Set-top-box with them, making nights in foreign hotel rooms with unintelligible local television a thing of the past. Another hit show, Allt för Sverige, which follows US contestants searching for their Swedish roots, is currently in the casting stage for series four. (See Sista Ordet (p.30) for the fascinating
behind-the-scenes story of how one of the contestants from series three discovered his aristocratic heritage.) Another popular show, Mästarnas mästare, in which former gold medal-winning athletic stars compete against each other in a series of sporting events, begins its sixth series in March. Past participants have included Ingemar Stenmark and Magdalena Forsberg.
Mästarnas mästare
But it’s not just for entertainment purposes that access to Swedish television is so valuable, says David Hagen. ‘We were recently in the US and discovered that schools use SVT World for educational purposes, and embassy staff watch it as part of their cultural training before coming to Sweden.’ Television can be a valuable learning tool, not least for children. SVT World has an hour of children’s programming per day – a great resource for bilingual kids. In this Swedish election year, it’s also the best way to keep up with current debates and political programmes such as Skavlan and Gomorron Sverige. See www.svt. se/svtworld for more information.
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March 2014 9
