With six months to go until the Ski World Championships in Falun 2027, the TV rights for Norway and Sweden remain unsold. This is an entirely unusual situation.

No one knows which channel will broadcast the Ski World Championships from Falun in 2027, nor who will produce the TV coverage of the events. This is a very unusual situation with just over six months to go. Typically, these arrangements are finalized several years in advance, as the groundwork is both time-consuming and crucial.

This situation also puts the local organizer in Falun in a difficult position. They do not have control over the matter, and their work is hindered in many areas due to the uncertainty surrounding the TV rights.

In Norway, the TV rights have not been sold either. The organizer is also noticing that potential sponsors are hesitant when they do not know which TV channels will be broadcasting.

“There are other factors that also influence this, but it is clear that it is interconnected. A sponsor wants to know how and where they will be visible to TV viewers,” says Kajsa Sjösvärd, CEO of Falu-VM, to the Norwegian Dagbladet.

“It also concerns how we will finalize the arena, where the cameras will be positioned, how we will lay the snow, and so on. Until a deal is in place, we can only guess. If agreements are finalized very late, it could also lead to significant extra costs, which in turn could affect ticket prices.”

FIS holds the contracts

There have been lengthy and intense discussions within FIS in recent years regarding the sale of TV rights. Previously, these rights belonged to individual National Ski Federations. This meant that the Swedish Ski Federation could have sold the rights for the 2027 World Championships in Falun.

However, after significant influence from former FIS President Johan Eliasch, the nations eventually agreed that FIS would own the rights and handle their sale.

According to Langd.se, interested channels in both Sweden and Norway submitted their bids earlier this year. But for some reason, the whole process was halted, and Eliasch stepped down as FIS president.

Now there is considerable frustration in many quarters that this issue remains unresolved. Time is running out. It is crucial for both the organizer and TV viewers whether the events will be broadcast on a free channel or on pay-TV. Additionally, it is unfortunate that it is unclear who will handle the production, as they have the most extensive preparatory work.

Never seen anything like it

The Norwegian event manager Terje Lund, who negotiates TV rights for the Norwegian Federation, is very surprised by the situation and has never experienced anything like it.

“Of course, it is challenging for us that it is not resolved yet. I have never been in a situation where we are half a year before the World Championships and the rights are still not sold. We are definitely in overtime. I am very surprised that this has not been resolved, and I hope it will be soon,” Lund tells Dagbladet.

Max Bursell, sports manager at SVT, states that they are still interested in the rights. However, the short time remaining until the championships complicates the situation.

“As it stands now, SVT does not have the rights. As long as no other party has purchased the rights, we are keeping our options open. Time will be tight regardless of who ultimately secures the rights,” he writes in an email to Expressen.

Bursell notes that a home championship entails higher costs for the broadcasting company. In addition to purchasing the rights, the broadcasting company must also produce the international broadcasts from the World Championships.

“Normally, this would have been settled over a year ago. There are certainly several companies in Sweden interested in showing the Ski World Championships at home, but it also involves significant costs to manage the international TV production of the events. Combined with high rights costs, it can be challenging to balance the budget.”

The World Championships in Falun will take place from February 24 to March 7, 2027.

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