The share of Finnish TV programmes continued declining
The share of North American TV programmes grew last year, whereas the number of Finnish programmes declined further, reports the survey commissioned by the Ministry of Transport and Communications. The share of North American TV programmes of national free-to-air channels was 45%, whereas the share of Finnish programmes remained in 32%.
Also the shares of Nordic programmes (4%) and programmes produced elsewhere in Europe (16%) declined.
According to the Finnish Television Programming 2013 report, considerable amounts of Finnish programmes, as in previous years, were shown through Yle channels. Of the commercial channels, only MTV and Kutonen presented more Finnish programming than North American productions.
According to Minister of Education and Communications Krista Kiuru, national production, in spite of that, is still an important part of Finnish television offerings.
- For example, more than half of Yle's television programming is national, which contributes to securing a provision of diverse quality TV programming also in the future.
In future, that provision will also be affected by the modernisation of receiver technology. It is intended that during 2017-2026 TV transmissions would move by stages to high definition transmissions and receiver equipment capable of receiving high definition images.
- The new technology will increase the number of television channels and expand the provision of high definition transmissions, Minister Kiuru says.
Reality TV more popular than ever
The largest individual programme categories in 2013 were reality TV and foreign fiction. In comparison with the previous year, the shares of both programme types increased. The share of reality TV of the programmes presented in all free-to-air channels went up from one-fifth to almost one-fourth. Foreign fiction increased its share by some percentage units to 21%.
The third-largest programme category, as in the year before, was entertainment and light music (10%), but its share from the previous year declined by four percentage points. Also the shares of documentaries (9%) and current affairs (3%) were slightly reduced, as was the share of Finnish fiction (1%).
Of the overall provision, the shares of other programme categories, that is, movies (9%), lifestyle programmes (9%), children's programmes (5%), news (3%), culture programmes (2%) and sports (2%), remained more or less unchanged.
Evaluated on the basis of programme categories, Yle TV2, MTV3 and Yle Fem provided the most diverse programming. Overall, it is estimated that the offering of public service channels was very diverse.
The amount of programming provided by 13 channels in 2013 was an average of 1429 hours per week, or more than 204 programme hours per 24 hours. Compared to the previous year, the provision increased by 75 hours per week.
Finnish Television Programming 2013 is a report commissioned by the Ministry of Transport and Communications. The aim of the report is to provide a quantifiable overview about the programming of Finnish TV channels and their total offering. The report examines the national free-to-air channels.
The channels investigated are Yle TV1, Yle TV2, Yle Fem, Yle Teema, MTV3, Sub, AVA, Nelonen, JIM, Liv, Kutonen, TV5, and FOX.
The Finnish Television Programming 2013 report (Ministry of Transport and Communications publications 19/2014) can be read in Finnish on the Ministry of Transport and Communications website at www.lvm.fi.
Further information:
Juha Herkman, Academy Research Fellow, Department of Social Research, University of Helsinki, tel. +358 (0)294 12 4840, [email protected]
Sini Wirén, Ministerial Adviser, Ministry of Transport and Communications, tel. +358 (0)295 34 2532
