The European television industry has been facing mounting challenges in recent years, including rising production costs, declining advertising revenues, and growing competition from global streaming platforms. These pressures have led commercial broadcasters across Western Europe to restructure, consolidate, or reduce their investment in original content. However, in a development that appears to buck the wider trend, Nordic public service broadcasters recorded their most active first quarter (Q1) for Scripted commissioning in four years. 

Ampere Commissioning data shows that 22 new Scripted TV titles were ordered by public service broadcasters across Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland in Q1 2025, a marked increase from just 13 titles in the same quarter of the previous year. The increased activity in Q1 2025 suggests a renewed momentum in public service investment after a period of slower activity. 

The commissioning activity of broadcasters DR (Denmark), NRK (Norway), SVT (Sweden), Yle (Finland) and RUV (Iceland) has been supported by stable public funding, long-standing regional partnerships, and an obligation to preserve and promote local storytelling. Unlike commercial broadcasters, these players are not reliant on advertising revenue and have been relatively shielded from one of the industry’s major financial pressures. However, rising production costs still present a challenge and have pushed these commissioners to focus more narrowly on content that balances local appeal with wider market viability. 

Crime & Thriller titles accounted for over 45% of Nordic Q1 2025 Scripted productions — the highest proportion of a single quarter’s orders dedicated to the genre in four years. Crime remains the most popular genre with Nordic audiences over the age of 35, according to Ampere’s Q1 2025 consumer survey, a trend that is reflected across wider European audiences. Given Nordic Crime Dramas’ ongoing potential for export, the genre offers a crucial route to increasing revenue from licensing deals to re-invest in original content budgets.

By contrast, commercial broadcasters and SVoD platforms in the region have scaled back on their Scripted output. The drop in streaming orders is particularly stark, with only four Scripted titles commissioned by SVoDs in Q1 2025. While regional services such as Viaplay have faced financial challenges, global players are increasingly shifting original content investment to less saturated international markets. But with streaming uptake across Nordic countries at an all-time high, concerns remain among policymakers about the long-term visibility of domestic content. 

In response, public service broadcasters, particularly in Denmark, are exploring closer regional collaborations, including early-stage discussions around a joint Nordic streaming platform to offer a regional alternative to global providers. These reflect collaborative production efforts already in place in the region. The most recent strategic production partnership, the N8 alliance, facilitates joint Scripted development and co-production between Nordic pubcasters and key European allies — ZDF in Germany, NPO in the Netherlands, and VRT in Belgium. Co-production partners are increasingly a pre-requisite in high-end Scripted commissioning, with the kinds of ambitious series which can compete for audience attention with global streaming hits increasingly out-of-reach for local players on their own. 

In Q1 2025, however, 30% of the Nordic pubcasters’ Scripted orders were co-commissioned projects, signalling a revival of investment in local IP supported by strategic co-commissioning, and a shift toward Scripted content with broader regional appeal, likely setting the template for public broadcasters’ longer term content strategies.