Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK) is the public service broadcaster in Norway. It runs three national television channels and 14 national radio channels.
Media assets
Television: NRK1, NRK2, NRK3 / NRK Super
Radio: NRK P1, NRK P2, NRK P3, NRK Alltid Nyheter, NRK Båtvær, NRK Folkemusikk, NRK P1+, NRK P13, NRK Jazz, NRK Klassisk, NRK mP3, NRK Sápmi, NRK Sport, NRK Stortinget, NRK Super
State Media Matrix Typology: Independent State-Managed (ISM)
Ownership and governance
NRK is a state-owned broadcast group subordinated to the Ministry of Culture. The Norwegian Parliament (Stortinget) has given the Ministry of Culture the role of owner in NRK.
The highest governing body at NRK is its Board that consists of nine members. The General Meeting, a body of supervisors convened by the Ministry of Culture, appoints six of these members, including the Chairman and the Vice-Chairman. Three Board members are representatives of NRK’s staff. The Board appoints NRK’s chief executive, whose mission is to serve as both the Editor-in-Chief and the Director General of NRK.
Source of funding and budget
NRK is almost entirely funded through an individual tax that everybody in Norway must pay: some 97% of NRK’s total yearly budget comes from this source. People pay between NOK 1,585 (US$ 190) and NOK 3,166 (US$ 380) a year (depending on their economic status), for this fee, which is calculated as a percentage of an individual’s income, an arrangement that ensures that the government can’t interfere with the NRK’s funding model.
This tax-based funding model has been in place since 2020. Before that, NRK used to be funded through revenues generated via a classic license fee, a levy charged on all households in Norway to fund the public media.
NRK operated with an annual budget worth some NOK 6bn (US$ 717m) in 2021, according to a company annual report. Most of that funding came from the broadcast tax. In 2022, NRK had a total budget of NOK 6.2bn (US$ 634m), nearly 97% of that coming from tax-based revenue, according to a company annual report.
Editorial independence
There are no government-imposed rules that affect the editorial coverage of NRK. The broadcaster has a sensitive relation with politicians, but its editorial coverage is completely free of any influence, according to local experts and journalists.
Freedom of expression is protected by the Norwegian Constitution (written in 1814). The Broadcasting Act prohibits government interference with the editorial coverage of NRK.
The Broadcasting Council has 14 members, eight of whom are appointed by parliament and six by the government. Meeting seven times a year, the council has a mandate to give an opinion on issues related to NRK’s programs. It also accepts and reviews NRK program complaints from the audience. The Council also discusses issues raised by the Council’s members or by NRK’s Director General. Because of the composition of the council, however, this mechanism of assessment can’t be considered independent.
Complaints about programs aired by NRK can be also addressed by the Press Council, a self-regulatory body that evaluates individual cases of possible breaches of ethical rules. The Press Council, however, doesn’t have the power to impose sanctions on the media.
September 2023