– Shock Strategy – VG

It only took a few weeks for it to turn on again. Cross-country skiers hope it’s less noisy in the winter.

There are six weeks until the start of the season in cross-country skiing with the national opening at Beitostølen on NRK. The following weekend, the World Cup will begin in Ruka on Viaplay. Then there’s the World Cup in Lillehammer on TV 2. Then there’s the World Cup in Bettostoln, which is broadcast on NRK. Before continuing in Davos on December 17 and 18 in Davos, it was broadcast on Viaplay.

Olympic Winner of 2018 Ragnhild Haga notes that viewership numbers are down and fewer media outlets attend press meetings with cross-country skiers.

– It is a challenge. I know they are working very hard with social media and a number of other measures to show what the Ski Association can do. Next, cross-country skiing at WC 2023 and 2025 will be broadcast on NRK, fortunately, Haga tells VG.

For the World Cup in Blanica in February and the World Cup in Trondheim in 2025, Viaplay was sold to NRK. Emil Iverson is the world champion in the five thousandth It is clear what he means about it.

– Last year there was a lot of hype, TV 2 and NRK broadcast something, and the Olympics were on Discovery. This year it will be easier this way. There will be more Viaplay and then there will be NRK in WC, says Iversen and continues:

– It’s a rather horrific strategy when Fiablay gets to cross-country ski for the first time, that they give up on the icing on the cake. Getting a championship is the same as securing as many people as possible on that platform.

Emil Iversen believes that Viaplay is giving up a huge opportunity to secure many viewers.

“For us, that’s fine, there will probably be good TV numbers on NRK, but I think it’s a strange strategy when Viaplay gives up the biggest opportunity to pressure people to go there,” says Iversen.

Christian Uma, sporting director at Viaplay Group Norway, will not comment on why they sold WC to NRK. He believes cross-country skiing should be put to the test now and what it’s worth.

– My advice is that cross-country runners achieve results, and understand that a new era is coming. Now they have to test themselves in the commercial landscape, and whether it is sustainable, Oma tells VG.

When you sell the biggest thing in cross-country skiing, a toilet, does that mean you don’t really care about cross-country skiing?

So we wouldn’t have invested in cross-country skiing. Uma replies: We take it very seriously, and it has great commercial value for us.

In October, a report from Shepherd Insight said cross-country skiing is collapsing as a care object from second to twelfth place in two years. Earlier this year, there was no press at the women’s media meetings across the country.

Harald Østberg Amundsen joined the circus with a WC bronze in the 15km race in 2021.

We are very concerned about the emergence of our sport and want it to be as big as possible. There are many challenges: does snow fall under our feet, competitions from other sports and athletes, as well as recruitment. We should take the topic of TV seriously and do our best to build the sport as much as possible, either by entertaining on social media or by telling more about our lives, so that more people can reach us, Amundsen tells VG.

Dedrick Tonseth, who returned to the national team ranks this season. He thinks it’s nice to have WC broadcast on NRK, but he’s not afraid to mess with cross-country skiing on all channels.

– She is a good channel in sports and she has a lot. We are very excited to have you as NRK. But last season’s Viaplay broadcasts were also very good. I just see it spreading across the country on more platforms. It would be a great solution, says Tonseth, to be very happy with cross-country skiing.

Hans Christer Holland believes that cross-country skiing suffers from the fact that it is difficult to break people’s media habits.

– Although Viaplay showed the race last year, I think most people associate cross-country skiing with NRK in the early morning, so I think it’s positive that the WC is being held there. Holland says NRK has been broadcasting cross-country skiing for so many years that people expect to go there.

Athletic director Espen Biervig lost his biggest star after the Olympic season, and Therese Johaug resigned. And sprint queen Maiken Caspersen Vala did the same.

– We have to make ourselves more modern. So that the media will see the value of travel and our meeting. It’s something we’re talking about. We live in an entertainment world. Some are better at it than others, Bjervig says, and some have a more interesting story than others.

– Are the cornerstones of cross-country skiing, those who want to watch cross-country skiing no matter where it is broadcast, a few hundred thousand TV viewers of NRK?

– I don’t know. We want the best possible TV numbers. Bjerwig replies: I think it’s going to be an interesting winter, so we’ll have to do everything we can to get great results.

Olympic race winner Eric Valens received a phone call from a neighbor before the start of the race last season.

– There was a farmer below me in the house, he called me 45 minutes before the Tour de Ski started in one race. Ask what channel you’re on. He is over 80 years old. It’s actually a bit comical, but it’s a good example. He can’t find it. He is interested. Valens says there may be more people like these who are struggling to find their way around.