Press Release

Nobel Media AB cancels agreement with TV4 AB

25 April 2008

As part of the agreement between the Swedish television broadcasting company TV4 and Nobel Media, TV4 is entrusted with handling certain international distribution of the Nobel broadcasts.

It has come to the attention of Nobel Media and the Nobel Foundation that the broadcasts in China from the 2007 Nobel Prize Award Ceremony were censored. This was made possible by licensing agreements between TV4 and third parties which diverge from the terms and conditions stated in Nobel Media's agreement with TV4.

The Nobel Prize Award Ceremony is a bearer of the Nobel Foundation's most fundamental values. The fact that it was censored as a consequence of TV4's actions is incompatible with the dissemination mandate the Nobel Foundation has given to Nobel Media. Nobel Media therefore sees no other solution than to cancel its agreement with TV4, which also includes the production and broadcasting of the Nobel Day events on TV4 on December 10.

The part of the opening address, presented by Dr Marcus Storch, Chairman of the Board of the Nobel Foundation, that has been cut out:
"In Oslo, the Norwegian government has made available to the Nobel Peace Center a unique historical building with the best possible location. A recently inaugurated exhibition there examines different aspects of freedom of expression − a freedom that, over the centuries, has caused conflicts mainly within the framework of the nation-state but is now creating strong international tensions. The exhibition highlights the fact that freedom of expression − the right to criticise those who possess power − is one of the most vital of all human rights, and a prerequisite for a more peaceful world. In Western countries, legal restrictions on freedom of expression were traditionally intended to protect public power and authority, whether political or religious, from being questioned and criticised. In today's democracies, legal barriers have shifted instead towards protecting individuals against infringements of their privacy. This modern development naturally comes into conflict with politically, and religiously, authoritarian systems and regimes. The Peace Center's exhibition on freedom of expression combines issues that are highly topical in the age of globalisation with the value system embraced by Alfred Nobel i.e. the ideals of the Age of Enlightenment". 

For further information, please contact:

Nobel Media AB, telephone +46 8 663 27 65 or cell +46 708 37 67 39

 

Nobel Media AB is the Nobel Foundation's newly established media company, mainly entrusted with managing and developing media-related rights connected with the Nobel Prizes.