Adopted by the Statutory General Meeting on April 30th, 1996, last amended by the Extraordinary General Meeting on March 30th, 2022.
In organizational provisions, etc.
Article 1 Name of the company
The name of the company is Norsk rikskringkasting AS.
Article 2 Company's registered office
The company's registered office is in Oslo.
Article 3 Purpose of the company
The purpose of the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK) is to offer public service broadcasting in the form of radio, TV and other media platforms to the whole of the Norwegian population.
Article 4 Share capital and debt
The company's share capital is NOK 1,000,000;000 divided between 1,000,000 shares with a nominal value of NOK 1,000.
If the company is dissolved/liquidated, any liquidation surplus and wealth will be transferred to the State.
Article 5 General meeting
An Ordinary General Meeting is held each year by the end of June. The annual report and accounts and auditor's report shall be presented at the Ordinary General Meeting, at which the following questions will be handled and decided:
l. Adoption of the income statement and the balance sheet, including allocation of the annual profit or coverage of the annual deficit.
- Adoption of the Corporation's income statement and balance sheet.
- Other matters that according to the law or Articles of Association fall under the General Meeting.
The General Meeting decides itself whether it will consider the substance of the matters presented in accordance with Article 9.
The annual accounts and other documents regarding matters on the agenda shall be in the hands of the shareholders no later than four weeks before an Ordinary General Meeting is held.
Article 6 Board of directors
The Board of Directors has eight members. The General Meeting elects five members, including the Chair and Deputy Chair, to serve for a period of two years at time, and the General Meeting can also elect two deputy members for these.
Three Board members and deputy members are directly elected by and among the employees in accordance with the provisions of the Norwegian Companies Act, Section 6-4 (refer to Section 20-4, Subsection 1) and the regulations on the employee's right to be represented on the board of directors of a limited liability company and public limited company, company gatherings, etc. (representation regulations).
Article 7 Signing on behalf of the company
The Chair and one Board member jointly sign on behalf of the company.
Article 8 Director General
The Board of Directors appoints the Director General, who is the company's CEO, and also determines the Director General's salary. The Director General is appointed for a period of six years, which can be extended for an additional period of six years.
Article 9 Matters to be presented to the General Meeting
The Board of Directors shall present to the Ordinary or Extraordinary General Meeting all matters that areassumed to be of material, principle, politicai or social importance.
The shutting down of existing radio andTV channels, and other measures that mayhave a significant impact on NRK's public service broadcasting, must always be presented to the General Meeting.
The establishment of subsidiaries or participation in other companies that do operate within public broadcasting must always be presented to the General Meeting.
Each year, the Board of Directors shall present a plan to the General Meeting for the company's activities with subsidiaries, which in addition to matters mentioned in the first paragraph, shall include, inter alia, the following matters:
- The main activities of the company and subsidiaries in the coming year, including major reorganization, changes in the regional profile, further development of existing undertakings and development of new undertakings.
- The company's financial development.
- Significant investments and associated financial plans.
- Analysis of the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation's operations in the foregoing year.
At the General Meeting, the Board of Directors shall present changes to plans of this nature that have previously been presented to the General Meeting.
At the General Meeting, the Board of Directors shall present purchases, sales or mortgaging of real estate if the transaction is signmcant to the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation's undertakings.
The company shall follow the Norwegian Public Limited Liability Companies Act, Sections 6-16a: guidelines on the fixing of salaries and other remuneration for leading personnel in listed companies, 6-16{b): Report on salaries and other remuneration for leading persons in listed companies and the regulations on guidelines and report on remuneration for leading persons. Guidelines in compliance with the Norwegian Public Limited Liability Companies Act, Section 6-16a, and the regulations must be presented to the Ordinary General Meeting for approval from 2022 inclusive. The guidelines shall also contain an account of how the "Guidelines for remuneration of senior executives in companies with state ownership" are followed up in the company's wholly owned subsidiaries. The remuneration report in compliance with the Norwegian Public Limited Liability Companies Act, Section 6-16b and the regulations must be presented to the Ordinary General Meeting no later than from 2023 inclusive.
The Board of Directors cannot pass an absolute decision on a matter mentioned in this paragraph before the matter has been presented to the General Meeting.
Article 10 Financing
NRK's accounts should normally balance.
NRK can operate commercial activities. There must be a clear separation between the accounts and operations of NRK's commercial activities and public service broadcasting.1
(1 Refer to the Regulation of September 7th, 2006, No. 1062, on the execution and implementation of the Norwegian Accounting Act of July l7th, 1998, No. 56, Sections 9-1-1 and following sections.)
Commercial activities shall mainly take place in the subsidiaries and be compatible with the quality and integrity requirements applicable to NRK. Should NRK carry out activities in the parent company that are not related to public service broadcasting, NRK undertakes to prepare separate accounts for the activities.
NRK's commercial subsidiaries shall act in compliance with basic marketing principles, which shall be supervised by NRK's accountant on a regular basis.
Subsidiaries granted over the national budget must not be used for cross-subsidization of commercial activities. The accountant shall prepare a report on this annually. All profits from commercial activities shall be used for public service broadcasting.
Article 11 Public service broadcasting accounts
Each year, NRK shall prepare the accounts for public service broadcasting at the end of March for submission to the Norwegian Media Authority. The accounts shall explain the company's public service broadcasting activities in the foregoing year related to the public service broadca ting activities commissioned by the Norwegian Starting (Parliament) incorporated into Parts II and Ill of the Articles of Association.
II Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK): Statement Of Commitments (NRK-plakaten)
Article 12 The purpose of NRK is to meet democratic, social and cultural needs in society.
Article 13 NRK shall safeguard free speech and conditions of free speech for citizens. NRK should be editorially independent and balanced over time. NRK should promote public debate and play its part in ensuring that the entire population receives sufficient information to enable it to actively participate in democratic processes.
Article 14 NRK shall have an independent responsibility for contributing to the diversity of Norwegian media (regionally and nationally).
Article 15 NRK's public service broadcastings should be available to the entire population. NRK should consider the disabled when designing its services.
Article 16 NRK should strengthen Norwegian and Sami language, identity and culture. A large portion of its offering should be anchored in and reflect the cultural diversity present in the population. NRK should have daily broadcasts for the Sami population. NRK should have programs for national and minority language groups. NRK should disseminate content from the Nordic region and promote knowledge of Nordic social conditions, culture and languages.
Article 17 NRK should disseminate Norwegian culture and a broad variation of Norwegian artistic expression from many different artists, independent providers and cultural institutions. NRK should disseminate Norwegian music, movies and drama, and stimulate the Norwegian film industry.
Article 18 NRK's services should reflect Norway's religious heritage and the diversity of belief systems and religions in Norway.
Article 19 NRKs services should mainly have Norwegian-language content, and at least 25 percent of the program content should be in "Norwegian Nynorsk" (nynorsk).
Article 20 NRK should reflect the geographical diversity of Norway and have a good local service. NRK should be present in all counties.
Article 21 NRK's services should mainly be of an editorial nature. NRK should strive to provide high quaHty, diversity and innovation. NRK's services should display a breadth of themes and genres, and appeal to all age groups.
Article 22 NRK should promote children's right to freedom of expression and to information, and protect children from harmful content. NRK should have Norwegian language programs for children under the age of 12, regular Norwegian-language programs for young people, and regular programs for children and young people in the Sarni languages.
Article 23 NRK should have a special responsibility for emergency preparedness. NRK should enable the governing authorities to reach out to the population with information over the broadcasting network in the event of a national crisis or disaster.
Article 24 NRK should be present and develop new services on all important media platforms, including the Internet, so as to achieve the broadest possible outreach for its overall program services.
Article 25 NRK's public service broadcasting should be advertisement free and not contain promotional references to the Corporation's commercial services and products.
Article 26 NRK should have a special responsibility for covering thematic and geographical blind zones.
III Complementary Provisions To The Norwegian Broadcasting CorporationsStatement Of Commitment
Democracy and editorial independence etc.
Article 27 NRK should broadly cover political elections in a balanced manner. All parties and lists of a particular size should be reported as normal in the editorial coverage of an election.
Article 28 The task of NRK is to uncover censurable circumstances and help protect individuals and groups against abuse or neglect on the part of public authorities and institutions, private undertakings or others.
Article 29 NRK should safeguard its integrity and credibility in order to act freely and independently in relation to persons or groups, who for political, ideological, economic or other reasons wish to influence its editorial content. NRK should be characterized by high ethical standards. Objectivity, an analytical approach and neutrality should be striven for (see, inter alia, the Guiding Principles For Editors, the Code Of Ethics Of The Norwegian Press and the Code Of Ethics For Printed Advertising and Sponsoring).
Universal availability
Article 30 NRK's public service broadcasting should be available free of charge to the entire population on at least one delivery platform. NRK should not demand payment from the population for public service broadcasting. This does not however stand in the way of individuals having to cover their own costs for technical equipment and/or access to delivery platforms.
Article 31 Insofar as possible, NRK should use open standards if not hindered by financial or qualitative considerations.
Norwegian language, identity and culture
Article 32 NRK should disseminate knowledge about different groups and diversity in Norwegian society. NRK should create arenas for debate and information about Norway as a multi-cultural society.
Article 33 NRK has an obligation to offer content that is produced and based on the regions. NRK should have regional broadcasts on weekdays.
Article 34 NRK should have daily programs in Norwegian for children under the age of 12.
Article 35 NRK should help promote new talent and local artists. At least 40 percent of the music that is played on NRK Pl, P2 and P3 should be in Norwegian with emphasis on Norwegian language and Norwegian-composed music. NRK should have a resident orchestra with a broad repertoire from entertainment music to symphony music.
Article 36 NRK should allocate at least an average of 40 percent of the unattached TV program budget for the last three years to external producers.
Article 37 NRK should disseminate Norway's cultural heritage. NRK's archive is a part of this heritage. The NRK should aim to digitalize the archive and make it available to the population. NRK should make available information about the material in the archive. NRK's material in the archive shall as far as practicable and legally possible, and in line with the Press Code Of Ethics, be made available for further use. NRK can demand coverage of the costs for making material in the archives available for further use by others.
Article 38 NRK should broadcast sports in a manner that covers both the breadth of Norwegian sport, including sports for the disabled and major sport events.
High quality, diversity and innovation /
Article 39 NRK's public service broadcasting should be the source of insight, reflection, experience and knowledge through content and high quality services.
Article 40 NRK should be innovative and contribute to quality development.
Article 41 NRK should be able to disseminate the same type of services offered by commercial actors, but should strive to add to its services an element of higher social value in relation to the commercial service.
Article 42 NRK should provide news programs, current affairs programs and cultural material for both small and broad groups, including their own cultural programs. The service should reflect the diversity present in the population.
Article 43 NRK should contribute to increased knowledge about international affairs.
Article 44 NRK should contribute to education and learning, including the offering of content adapted to the education system.
Non-commercial public service broadcasting
Article 45 NRK's editorial decisions should not be steered by commercial considerations.
Article 46 NRK should exercise special caution in offering content that exposes the public to commercial pressure. This particularly applies to programs aimed at children and young people.
Article 47 NRK's public service broadcasting is mainly financed through subsidies granted through the national budget. Subsidies granted through the nationaibudget and other forms of public revenue should not subsidize commercial activities. There must be a clear separation between the accounts and operations of NRK's commercial activities and public service broadcasting.
Article 48 NRK can, but to a limited degree, have sponsors.
Article 49 NRK should be able to further develop commercial services that generate profits and contribute to financing public service broadcasting. NRK's commercial services should be related to the company's editorial activities. NRK shall strive to have the clearest possible separation between public service broadcasting and commercial services. Business activities should be compatible with the quality and integrity requirements applicable to NRK.
Attractive content online, mobile TV, etc.
Article 50 NRK's online services shall in combination include live images, sound and text with at least one continuously updated offer related to:
- national and-international news;
- its own regional news and content;
- self-created content for children and young people;
- facts and background information for news, debates and current social issues;
- art and culture;
- sports and entertainment;
- services and games that stimulate interactive participation.
Article 51 NRK should make as many as possible of its radio and TV programs available online, both with simultaneous delivery and as an archive service for downloading and/or individual playback, including at the minimum making available the whole of its self-produced broadcasts from the last seven days as an archive service provided that it does not result in disproportionally high costs. NRK shall also strive to ensure that most of its-other broadcasts from the last seven days are made available as an archive service.
Article 52 NRK should stimulate knowledge, awareness and the use of other media platforms among users of all ages.
