4 - FIFA/CIES International University Network

INTERNATIONAL FOCUS
NORDIC REGIONS
EUROPE’S NORTHERN STARS
Scandinavia, the collective term
for Sweden, Denmark, Norway and
Finland, is one of the most complex
and fascinating regions in the sports
marketing business. Andy Fry looks
at the region’s complex television
market and the region’s bold attempts
to attract major sporting events in a
competitive bidding environment.
ALTHOUGH RELATIVELY small compared
to other European markets (a population of
24 million), Scandinavia is home to many
innovative and entrepreneurial brands and
media companies. This means it is an important
contributor to the global sports marketing
scene. At the same time, it boasts good sports
facilities, interesting topography and excellent
urban infrastructure. The result is that the
region is high on the consideration list for sports
federations when it comes to choosing venues.
Understanding why the market works
the way it does requires some historical and
commercial context, however. It’s worth noting,
for example, that Scandinavian (or Nordic)
governments were very late in permitting the
launch of free-to-air commercial television.
The upshot of this is that public broadcasters
like SVT Sweden, NRK Norway, YLE Finland,
Danmarks Radio and TV2 (both Denmark)
continue to be prominent players - both on their
own terms and via rights-buying collectives such
as the European Broadcasting Union.
YLE, for example, invested a record-breaking
€20 million on sports rights this year -
underlining its commitment to events such as
the Winter Olympics (always a crowd-pleaser)
and the FIFA World Cup.
This pro-public service broadcaster
environment has not, however, deterred
74 SportBusiness International • No. 160 • 09.10