Nordic nets take TV4 content

Broadcasters in Norway and Finland have acquired more than 120 hours of content that has aired on TV4 in Sweden from Scandinavian distributor Nordic World.

Swedish chef Leila Lindholm

MTV Finland has picked up 71 hours, including nine Swedish lifestyle titles such as TV4’s interior design series Finally Home (Antligen Hemma), which is now its 37th season.

The package also covers series by Swedish chefs Tina Nordström and Leila Lindholm, both of whom have strong followings across the Nordic region.

Matkanalen, a Norwegian network specialising in culinary content, has also taken series fronted by Nordström and Lindholm, totalling 23-and-a-half hours, from Nordic World.

Meanwhile, Modern Times Group in Norway has picked up two seasons of TV4’s long-running psychic show The Unknown (Det Okända), which is now in its 22nd season and features clairvoyants attempting to help people.

Rounding out the deals is Discovery Norway, which has acquired Swedish gardening show Trädgårdshjälpen (6×60′), in which six families are helped by garden artists and carpenters to transform their neglected plots.

“Only the freshest, most original content stands a chance of winning audiences in our super-competitive region, where budgets are low but expectations high,” said Nordic World CEO Espen Huseby.

The deals come after Huseby completed a management buy-out of the Oslo-based distributor, which was previously owned by Norwegian broadcaster TV2, last year.