NRK to Telecast Anand vs Carlsen World Chess Championship Live on TV NRK1, Web NRK.no ~ World Chess Championship 2013 Viswanathan Anand vs Magnus Carlsen at Chennai Hyatt Regency
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Sunday, November 3, 2013

NRK to Telecast Anand vs Carlsen World Chess Championship Live on TV NRK1, Web NRK.no

Posted by World Chess Championship 2013 News Blog Sunday, November 3, 2013
The Magnus Carlsen chess wave is truly blowing away Norway as well because NRK has obtained rights from Doordarshan to telecast the World Chess Championship 2013 between Magnus Carlsen and Viswanathan Anand live from Chennai. They obtained the World Championship live telecast rights after a tedious negotiation process. 

NRK (an abbreviation for Norsk Rikskringkasting AS - the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation) is the Norwegian government-owned radio and television public broadcasting company, and the largest media organisation in Norway. 

"It has been a complicated negotiation process over several months with various groups in India, but in the end we managed to reach an agreement with the owner of the TV rights. There was competition for rights on the Norwegian market, and we are obviously pleased that we eventually won at NRK," Runar Østmo, Head of Sports Rights at NRK Broadcasting, was quoted as saying in a press announcement.

He added, "It's a little crazy to feed nearly 100 hours of chess live on the largest TV channel in the country, but we think the Norwegian people would like to finally be able to follow Magnus Carlsen's outstanding achievements up close," said Sports Director NRK, Rune Haug (photo below via NRK).


NRK will broadcast the Carlsen versus Anand World Championship on NRK1 and NRK.no. 

Haug said, "With hours and hours of chess playing, it will be a challenge for the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation to provide a good telecast for chess enthusiasts. We have little time for us to develop a good show, but fortunately we have many talented people who see this as a fun challenge."

NRK will also have a panel to discuss and analyse the games live. There will also be plenty of room for suggestions and comments from viewers who follow the World Chess Championship on the Internet, he said. 

Even Liv Mette Harboe, principal secretary of the Norwegian Chess Federation, is excited about how chess will do on television in Norway. She was quoted by NRK as saying that there are several who have great memories of World Chess Championship 1972 in Reykjavik (Bobby Fischer vs. Boris Spassky) on radio. Being able to see the live footage makes her feel "incredibly excited". 

Harboe said they had already noted an increased interest in Carlsen's chess exploits and now expected a further boost in chess popularity across Norway with this epic Carlsen versus Anand World Chess Championship in Chennai. -- Rajat Khanna

* Post with links to updates on World Chess Championship Live telecast
* Doordarshan with Worldwide rights