Stephen Mowbray, head of programme acquisitions, SVT (Sweden)

Do you enjoy the LA Screeenings? 

When you work in television, to immerse yourself in Hollywood is the best feeling. It’s a dream for telly nerds; you get to see the shows on a big screen with a great sound.

It’s a funny market because in Scandinavia, a lot of the deals are long running so almost everything is tied up before you go.

What’s SVT’s split between acquisitions and local series?
At the moment we’re 40% international acquisitions and 60% local series. It’s less in primetime but it’s still a lot. We buy around 3,000 hours a year.

Do you have any output deals with the Hollywood studios?
We share the NBC Universal output deal with Viasat. Every year we share the picking order of their shows.

We got Suits last year, whereas Viasat picked up Smash. It’s a very pragmatic relationship with Viasat, because they’re more commercial than us. There’s also the option for the British series from NBC Universal such as Downton Abbey.

We’ve also got a deal with HBO, where we get everything in the second window. I am really looking forward to The Newsroom. There’s huge expectations after The West Wing; I hope it’s as smart and cool as it should be.

Will 2012 be a good year for the LA Screenings?
Yes, I’ve never known a time where there’s so much quality fiction.