This season, the Swedish public broadcaster SVT bought the rights to cover the entire long-distance series Visma Ski Classics. With a seasoned and knowledgeable team of commentators and producers, the numbers and ratings for the first long-distance race weekend on SVT are uplifting. 

The Visma Ski Classics season opener in Orsa Grönklitt attracted a large TV audience: The Pro Team Tempo time trial on Saturday, December 18, had an average rating of 300,000 viewers according to SVT ratings and statistics. 

The average rating for Sunday, December 19, was even higher: 350,000 viewers saw Emil Persson of Lager 157 Ski Team and Astrid Øyre Sling of Team Koteng win the Orsa Grönklitt Individual Prologue event. But the overall reach for the Individual Prologue on Sunday, meaning the number of people who saw at least 3 minutes of the coverage, was 1,235,000.

One noteworthy statistic is that the average rating for each event is at or above 300,000 viewers. Given that the time span for each event is long, 156 minutes for the Saturday event and 200 minutes for the Sunday events, and the long-distance events started at 9 am. 

Stands up to the World Cup
Comparing the numbers and ratings for the FIS World Cup events in Dresden, Germany, the same weekend, the SVT’s ratings and reach for the long-distance events are strong: The World Cup sprint qualifier on Saturday, December 18, had an average rating of 191,000 while the Pro Team Tempo, which ran at the same time, had 286,000. 

For the team sprint qualifier in Dresden on Sunday, December 19, and the Ski Classics individual prologue events, which ran at the same time, the numbers were nearly identical: 363,000 viewers for the World Cup versus 353,000 viewers for the Visma Ski Classics races. 

The FIS World Cup events are broadcasted by (Viaplay/TV6 in Sweden), owned by the NENT Groups.

More long-distance on tap
SVT will broadcast the entire Visma Ski Classics Pro Tour. 

The long-distance series continues with two races in Italy next weekend: the 62-kilometer Pustertal Ski Marathon on January 8, and the 32-kilometer Prato Piazza Mountain Challenge on January 9. Both events are new to the Visma Ski Classics Pro Tour this season. 

The Visma Ski Classics Pro Tour consists of 14 events, including legendary events such as Marcialonga in Italy, Vasaloppet in Sweden and Birkebeinerrennet in Norway. Orsa Grönklitt in Sweden on December 18-19 was the season opener for 2021/22, while Ylläs-Levi in Finland on April 9 concludes the 12th season of the Visma Ski Classics Pro Tour. A total of 35 teams and 276 athletes are registered for the Visma Ski Classics Pro Tour this season.