Sveriges Television (SVT)

Sveriges Television (SVT) is the Swedish public service television operator in Sweden with a history that goes back to 1956. Today, the broadcaster operates four channels.


Media assets

Television: SVT1, SVT2, SVT2 HD, Barnkanalen, Kunskapskanalen, SVT24

State Media Matrix Typology: Independent Public (IP)


Ownership and governance

SVT is a limited company owned by a foundation, a structure that was created with the aim of insulating the broadcaster from any government pressure. The foundation is the main governing body for all public media in Sweden (SVT and Sveriges Radio). The foundation has a board of 13 members who are appointed based on proposals from political parties, but not according to the parties’ power in government. Formally, these members are appointed by the government. Yet, as the government doesn’t have any say in the overall funding of the foundation and can’t directly appoint anybody on the foundation’s board, this structure has proved to ensure the broadcaster’s autonomy. The foundation’s board appoints the board of SVT.

Source of funding and budget

As of 2019, SVT has been financed by a public service fee that is income based and collected as a tax. Individuals in Sweden pay a maximum of SEK 1,300 (US$ 160) per year for the public service media fee. The money collected from this tax goes to a special account managed by the Swedish Chamber of Commerce.

Commercial revenues such as income from advertising sales are not allowed on SVT (revenues from sponsorship of sports events are an exception). In 2021, SVT operated with a total budget of SEK 5.3bn (US$ 585m), according to a company annual report. In 2022, the company had a budget of nearly SEK 5.3bn (US$ 496m), according to a company annual report.

Editorial independence

The government is not allowed to impose any rules on SVT’s editorial coverage. The station is known for its editorial independence and quality programming. No evidence of any kind of editorial control by the government has been identified by our research for this project.

The SVT charter, signed by the SVT and the Swedish government, guarantees the station’s editorial independence (from all kinds of pressures including interference by the government, pressure groups, political parties, state bodies or corporations). In fact, SVT is obliged by the charter to “scrutinize authorities, organizations and private firms which exert influence over policy affecting the public, and cover the activities of these and other bodies.”

There are two instances that receive reports about content produced and aired or broadcast by SVT: the Review Board (an independent decision-making body that monitors whether the content of programs broadcast on radio and television follows the rules) and the Public Media Ombudsman MO (whose mission is to test whether SVT has caused unjustifiable damage to individuals). The ombudsman also monitors media content published by other media outlets in Sweden.

Such accountability mechanisms have a long tradition in Sweden, their history going back to 1900 when rules aimed to ensure fairness in publishing were adopted.

September 2023