People in the Nordic countries can now start to anticipate the pleasure of a brand new joint Nordic television channel. The Nordic Council Culture and Education Committee is once again giving political priority to the idea of a joint cultural channel for all five countries. It will be modelled on the bilingual French-German channel Arte, which viewers in both Germany and France have enjoyed since 1992.

Parliamentarians from all the Nordic countries are now reacting to the Nordic television viewers growing demand for cultural programmes on the Nordic public sector channels. The Nordic Council's Cultural Committee is therefore reviving the discussion of a joint Nordic channel. The programmes will be aimed at all Nordic television viewers and will focus on Nordic and European cultural topics. At the same time the new television channel will strengthen Nordic cultural and language fellowship.

"With a joint Nordic television channel people in the Nordic countries will have a real alternative to the massive amount of mainly American produced programmes which dominate the Nordic public service stations. This could also be a new platform to increase interest in Nordic art and culture, not only in the Nordic Region, but also outside it," explains Olemic Thommessen, member of the Nordic Council's Culture and Education Committee.

The committee underlines that the idea of a joint Nordic television channel should be seen as a choice for viewers in addition to the national public service channels. The channel will be purely a broadcasting channel and will not produce the content of the programmes itself. Collaboration on television productions and actual joint productions already takes place through the existing Nordic film and television co-operation.

In the first instance, the Nordic Council Culture and Education Committee is calling for a revival of the discussion on a joint channel:

"The idea of a joint Nordic television solution has been raised before. It has been rejected every time based on arguments that viewers' preferences differ from one Nordic country to another. However, in line with technological developments the framework conditions are quite different today. It is now technologically possible, using web-based television portals, to adapt the programming to the individual country and the individual viewer," says Olemic Thommessen.

The Culture and Education Committee will hold a seminar on the future of Nordic public service co-operation during the Nordic Council's meetings in Oslo on 14 April. The parliamentarians will examine the possibilities of creating a new joint Nordic culture channel inspired by the French-German culture channel Arte.

The seminar will take place on 14 April in Stortinget from 13.00 - 16.00.
Place: Stortinget, Entrance from Prinsensgt. 26, Høringssal N-303.

Anne-Mette Persdotter
Phone +45 33 96 04 50
Email amp@norden.org

Silje Bergum Kinsten
Phone +45 33 96 02 51
Email siki@norden.org