On Thursday, TV4's CEO Mathias Berg announced that the channel is leaving the terrestrial network to instead focus on its streaming service TV4 Play.
On the streaming service, viewers can still access programs and news broadcasts free of charge with advertising. However, it will not be possible to access the TV4 channel without being a paying customer, writes TV4 News.
The decision is both economically and strategically motivated, says Mathias Berg.
The costs we have today are too high for it to be a good economic decision to continue distributing (via the terrestrial network), he says to TV4 News.
Anne Lagercrantz, CEO of SVT, says in a written comment to TT that she has full understanding for the decision - at the same time as she emphasizes that society's costs increase by "several hundred million kronor" as all commercial companies leave the terrestrial network.
"Therefore, it is crucial that the government promptly presents a solution for how the financing of the terrestrial network will be secured - without burdening public service. This was also a conclusion that the public service investigation clearly drew", she says.
For households that watch TV4 via other, fee-based distribution forms - such as cable TV, satellite or city network - no change occurs.
