Sweden is doing fantastically so far in the FIFA World Cup 2026, and viewers at home are appreciating the efforts on the pitch; according to measurement company MMS, SVT’s viewership on linear TV alone at the start of the second half of Sweden’s debut against Tunisia – which aired in Sweden at 4am on 15 June – was a hefty 949,000 people. With Sweden winning 5-1, fans at home are excited for the next match against the Netherlands on 20 June.
SVT and TV4 are sharing the Swedish rights for the 2026 World Cup. TV4 will broadcast most of the group stage with 49 out of 72 matches, and also Sweden’s round of 32 if the Swedish national team advances to it from the group stage.
SVT will broadcast 36 matches from the championship along with studio broadcasts, analysis and reporting from the entire World Cup. SVT will also be broadcasting a potential round of 16 match with Sweden and potentially a semifinal with Sweden.
SVT’s matches are broadcast on linear TV and are being streamed for free via SVT Play. TV4’s matches are available on the TV4 linear channel or can be streamed online via a paid TV4 subscription.
Bobby Baksi, SVT’s large events project manager, is overseeing the production of the 2026 World Cup. Baksi has worked at SVT since 2006 and over that time, has been across numerous World Cup’s, Olympics and other major events. SVG Europe caught up with Baksi to find out more about SVT’s production at home and on the ground in the US, Mexico and Canada.
While for previous World Cup’s Baksi has worked on location, this is the first time he is managing the event from Sweden. On why he is based at home this time around, Baksi says: “In the past I’ve actually been on site, which has its advantages, but I think due to the time differences and logistics – I wouldn’t say nightmare – but it’s a bit of a stretch logistically getting around in the US and also in relation to the time difference, I feel much safer being at home here in Sweden. I get a better perspective on the whole thing here, so I’ve decided to stay put in Stockholm.”
Coverage on location
Chris Härenstam and Glenn Strömberg are on the commentator’s stand at the biggest matches directly from the World Cup stadiums. Together with Pelle Bäckman and Hanna Marklund, they are guiding viewers through all the matches.
SVT also has several teams on site in the US, Mexico and Canada. Jennifer Kücükaslan is reporting from the match arenas around the championship and Sofia Yohannes is complementing the coverage with her deep understanding of the US and the environments surrounding the World Cup.
SVT is also investing in extensive coverage of Sweden on site. Johan Kücükaslan and former team captain Olof Mellberg are, together with Björn Nordling and Gabriel Melke, highlighting the Swedish national team throughout the tournament.
Baksi comments on the ENG crew spread across the tournament on location: “We have a main studio at home here in Stockholm in the SVT building and then we have four ENG teams on site. One ENG crew is our main commentary team, with a commentator and a pundit; what we’re doing is that we’re also sending a [camera operator] with them to create both for the commentary, but also to create content inside the arenas and off the pitch to get that extra perspective.
“Then we have another ENG crew, which is a reporter and a [camera operator] who’s mainly doing the different positions at the arena so they go from one match to another covering pitchside, announce platform, that kind of thing. Then we have a third ENG crew who won’t be at the arenas as such, they’re doing more environmental stories, politics in relation to sports, that kind of storytelling.
“And then we will have a fourth team who will basically cover all of Sweden’s games; whatever Sweden does, our team will be there and that is a maximum of five people with three reporters, a photographer and a pundit. That’s the main setup. Then on top of that, we’ll have a team leader who is around and about between all of these different teams, coordinating.”
On getting those ENG crews around to different games for SVT during the World Cup, Baksi adds that it is not an easy feat of scheduling and coordination: “The logistics bit is quite challenging because of the distances involved, of course. But then on top of that, it’s been everything from visas to accreditation processes, to making sure the ENG teams get there on time. You have matches where Sweden plays and then quite quickly they have to go from Mexico to whatever distance or whatever city is required. So of course that’s a bit of a challenge, but I think we’ve done as well as we could.”
There will be two crews at all SVT’s Sweden matches: the team of five, plus the commentary team, with the commentators in a commentary position, and the other presentation team moving between pitchside position, uniflash and superflash positions. Adds Baksi: “Also a new thing that FIFA’s provided for the host broadcaster for that country is something called the centre circle position, which is a new item you can book, which is basically as the players warm up we have a reporter and a photographer on the centre circle reporting there. So we have quite a lot of positions actually in relation to the Sweden games, where we bulk up these positions more than we perhaps would in any other game.”
The host broadcaster prioritises SVT over other broadcasters when it has the rights to a particular Sweden game. Baksi adds: “If it’s a Sweden game that SVT broadcast, we’re a major priority, which we think is good. And of course we share the rights with TV4 in Sweden as well, so we have two Sweden games in the group stage and they have one.”
SVT’s studio is designed with four different areas that can be used by the presentation team to analyse and demonstrate aspects of the game
Nordic Mafioso
SVT is also part of the ‘Nordic Mafia’ and therefore does not have a physical presence at the IBC in Dallas. The Nordic Mafia, as FIFA has nicknamed the collaboration between all the rights holders in the Nordic region, is a joint operation in the IBC in Dallas where two people from Danish TV 2 are handling all the signals back to all the Nordic country rights holders, including SVT.
Comments Baksi: “We have a joint setup at the IBC in Dallas with all the companies, but TV 2 Denmark is spearheading it and taking charge of the operation for us. They have presence on site and those guys in the IBC work for all the Nordic companies.
“I think from our end, it’s quite effective both in terms of, of course budget-wise, but also it brings us together in the North as well, in the Nordics, to learn off each other and share different kinds of insights. So for us, it’s just a win-win, but I do understand that FIFA has a bit of problems with that, hence the name the Nordic Mafia. It’s funny!”
All the feeds from the IBC go straight back to SVT. Comments Baksi: “All the Nordic public service companies do have different needs so we share the feeds, but also we have different ways of taking home the commentary sound or the mix positions or whatever it is. So we have different setups and bookings straight towards FIFA. We do have the IBC set up jointly, but then SVT make our other bookings separate towards FIFA than NRK does or DR does.”
Tough kickoffs and timezones
“One big difference is in the past the World Cup always had a maximum of four different kickoff times, and now it’s 14, which is quite challenging,” Baksi says, shaking his head.
The kick offs and timezones for this World Cup has led SVT to run shifts at its studios for crew working in Europe, so that this marathon of a competition does not cause people to crash and burn.
Explains Baksi: “The kickoff times are a bit of a challenge because obviously they involve a lot of early mornings and late nights, so we’re switching between two main teams. You have teams A and B, both of which include everything from the producer to the directors to people involved working with the production.
“Usually what we [have done previously] is we have one team and then we change positions and try to make it more durable [for those involved] in that sense, because there’s a lot of matches. But here we’ve opted on two teams. They’re interchangeable, so one team does the work, goes home, sleeps and rests a bit, and then the next team comes in, so that we don’t end up being really, really tired after three or four days.”
Adds Baksi: “We’ve made sure that everybody’s looked after well because it’s not the same thing as producing TV in the daytime or evening time as in the nighttime. People are people; you get hungry, you naturally feel a bit more tired during the night. So we take care of our employees with a lot of catering. What kind of food do we eat nighttime has been a topic as well, to keep energy levels up and that kind of thing. A lot of detail’s gone into this.”
Bigger hype
If Sweden continues to do well and progress in the competition, there will be, “no change to our production approach other than the fact that the hype, of course, becomes even bigger,” notes Baksi.
“But I think one of the challenges is we don’t quite know where Sweden will end up,” he continues. “So if they finish third in the group, there is a whole variety of options where they could land or it could be, “oh, you’ve ended up in this round of 16 match in Dallas or in Monterey, Mexico,” and the timeframe is so short from the last group stage match to the actual first round of 16, which means the logistical challenge would be very great. So because we don’t know where Sweden will end up, we don’t quite know if our [production] teams will be able to get [to the stadium location] in time. It’s much easier if you win the group or finish second, because then you do quite know where you’re going to end up, but if you finish third, then the options are quite a lot and work in a very short space of time, so that’s going to be a quite big challenge as well.”
The 2026 World Cup is taking place between 11 June and 19 July. Sweden’s group stage matches against Tunisia and Japan will be broadcast on SVT.