Norwegian national media vying for chess broadcast rights
by Tarjei J. Svensen
The biggest commercial TV channel in Norway, TV 2, recently announced that they had bought the TV broadcast rights for two big chess events involving Magnus Carlsen: The upcoming Gashimov Memorial in Shamkir, Azerbaijan (April 20th—30th), and Norway Chess (June 2nd—13th) will be covered on the channel.
The commentators who will join host Fin Gnatt during the Gashimov Memorial include GMs Simen Agdestein and Jon Ludvig Hammer, national cult hero Hans Olav Lahlum, IM Espen Lie and Ellen Carlsen, Magnus’ older sister.
National cult hero Hans Olav Lahlum, in the TV 2 studio during the Zürich Chess Challenge | TV2.no
These days we are seeing national TV channels fighting for the right to show live images during major chess events!
This is not the first time TV 2 has covered chess. Last year TV 2 was lagging behind its competitors’ chess coverage. Seeing the enormous interest generated during last November’s World Championship match, they started producing daily broadcasts on their own sports channel and website. In January they bought the TV rights for the Zürich Chess Challenge and sent a crew to report from on site.
The Zürich coverage was apparently a success for TV2. The network’s head of media rights Bjørn Taalesen explained why they decided to buy the rights for two major chess events.
The numbers we’ve seen on previous tournaments have proved that chess is of interest, so we’re very pleased that we, in the future, will show major chess events such as Norway Chess and the Gashimov Memorial. The interest in Magnus Carlsen just seems to be growing.
Interest in chess in Norway was given a massive boost from the World Championship. Having the national hero Magnus Carlsen fighting for the title was an important factor by itself, but it was also helped by the fact that several Norwegian TV channels and online newspapers covered the match move by move in live studios with expert commentators.
NRK, the state-owned and largest Norwegian media company, featured an experienced chess coach as their main commentator, and they were able to make chess exciting for the general public by breaking down the action from a beginner’s point of view.
Front page headlines from Norway’s state-owned NRK network, shortly after game 1 of the match. | NRK.no
The resulting ratings were beyond all expectations. Viewership via online newspapers and text-based live coverage proved that chess can reach mainstream appeal, contrary to the view of FIDE Executive Director Nigel Freeman, who told Norwegian paper Dagbladetthat if FIDE does not receive bids for the World Championship match by the end of April, it will indicate that chess is not marketable enough.
Of course it’s not a given that chess would succeed as a TV sport in Norway. In a country where skiing still dominates television sets, many viewers don’t even know what en passant or stalematemeans. They could easily be bored during a seven hour game unless the commentators are able to maintain dramatic tension, and hold their interest.
The national media should not discriminate against GM Nakamura. He should be in the headline everyday to acknowledge his greatness.
They must salute him for playing in their country. A once in a lifetime experience to watch great Nakamaura play.
“National cult hero” Hans Olav Lahlum has very little to say but talks a lot. Mostly about himself. Nightmare number one would be buying a ticket on the transsibirian railway and noticing Lahlum enter the compartment.