No television channel has yet secured the broadcasting rights to the World Ski Championships in Falun in February. FIS is responsible for the sale, and Pernilla Bonde believes that the Swedish Ski Association is doing everything it can to resolve the issue.
It's really bad, of course. We've been to FIS for a long time and have had lots of meetings with them about this, where we've highlighted how important this is. There's nothing more that can be done from Sweden's side, we're in FIS' hands on this issue, says Bonde.
“Set a pretty tight deadline”
Falu World Cup CEO Kajsa Sjösvärd has previously said that if the television issue is not resolved soon, it could mean increased costs, which in turn could affect ticket prices. Pernilla Bonde agrees that the television mess could have financial consequences.
She also believes that time is running out before the economy is affected.
FIS says it will be finished soon, but we have heard that before, so now we want to see results. We have set a fairly strict deadline of the end of August, when we see that there must be an agreement in place.
Do you see any risk that there will be no World Ski Championships in the future?
The interest is huge and, as I understand it, there are offers on the table, so I'm not worried that it won't be shown anywhere.
“Doesn’t close any doors”
SVT has not yet confirmed whether they have made a bid for the championship, but sports director Max Bursell believes that it is an interesting right for the channel.
"As long as no other party has bought the rights, we are not closing any doors. Time will be short regardless of who ultimately secures the rights," he previously wrote in an email to TT.
"Normally, this would have been completed over a year ago. There are certainly several companies in Sweden that are interested in showing the Ski World Championships on home soil, but it is also associated with large costs to be responsible for the international TV production of the competitions. Combined with high rights costs, it can be challenging to make ends meet."
TT has applied for FIS.
Date: February 24–March 7, 2027.
Location: Lugnet Arena, Falun.
Sports: Cross-country skiing, ski jumping and Nordic combined.
