RÚV

What is RÚV?

RÚV is Ríkisútvarpið, Iceland's public broadcaster. Its governing statute is the Act on Ríkisútvarpið, a public-service medium, no. 23 of 20 March 2013, read here in the consolidated Lagasafn edition 157c of 1 September 2026. Article 2 provides that “Ríkisútvarpið er sjálfstætt opinbert hlutafélag í eigu íslenska ríkisins. Sala Ríkisútvarpsins eða hluta þess, sameining við önnur félög eða slit eru óheimil.”^[1]

The board is chosen through Parliament. Article 9 provides that “Fyrir stjórnarkjör á aðalfundi skal Alþingi tilnefna, með hlutbundinni kosningu, níu menn og jafnmarga til vara sem kosnir skulu í stjórn félagsins.”^[1] Reporters Without Borders, in its entry for Iceland, states that “the leading national media are, generally, independent, including the public broadcaster RUV, whose board of directors is appointed by Parliament.”^[2]

The broadcaster's 2025 annual report states that “Fjöldi ársverka var 269 á árinu og fækkaði um sex milli ára.”^[3]

What does RÚV cover?

The statute names sport in the public-service remit twice. Article 3 opens “Um fjölmiðlaþjónustu Ríkisútvarpsins í almannaþágu gildir eftirfarandi:”, and its first paragraph provides that “Fjölmiðlaefnið skal hið minnsta vera fréttir og fréttaskýringar, fræðsluþættir, íþróttaþættir, afþreying af ýmsum toga, lista- og menningarþættir og sérstakt efni fyrir börn og ungmenni.” Its cultural paragraph opens “Ríkisútvarpið skal sinna menningarlegu hlutverki sínu m.a. með því að:”, listing among its items “Bjóða fjölbreytt og vandað menningarefni og fjalla um ólík svið menningar, lista og íþrótta á Íslandi og erlendis, auk þess að vera vettvangur umræðna og skoðanaskipta um íslenska menningu og samfélag.”^[1] Both duties are framed by “skal”; the first is a minimum (“hið minnsta”), and the second list is introduced by “m.a.”, among other things.

Sport also appears in the Act's rule on sponsorship. Article 7 provides that “Ríkisútvarpinu er óheimilt að afla tekna með kostun dagskrárefnis en þó má víkja frá því í eftirfarandi tilvikum:”, and item b of that list is “við útsendingu innlendra íþróttaviðburða og umfjöllun um þá”. Item a covers lavish programme items, to meet the costs of production or of buying broadcast rights.^[1] The prohibition is the rule; the sport exception is a permission (“má”), not a duty.

RÚV's sport section on ruv.is is divided into football, handball, basketball, gymnastics, golf, swimming and athletics, and carries a list of forthcoming live broadcasts under the heading “Fram undan í beinni”.^[4] The broadcaster reported on 24 October 2025 that “RÚV hefur tryggt sér sýningarréttinn frá heimsmeistaramóti karla í fótbolta á næsta ári”, the headline giving the 2026 and 2030 tournaments.^[5]

The 2025 annual report's programme review states that “RÚV tryggði sér sýningarréttinn á fjórum mótum þar sem Ísland var meðal þátttökuþjóða: EM kvenna í fótbolta, EM karla í körfubolta og HM karla og kvenna í handbolta.” It adds that “RÚV hélt áfram að sýna frá Íslandsmótum og bikarúrslitum í hinum ýmsu íþróttagreinum, til dæmis handbolta, fótbolta, körfubolta, fimleikum, frjálsíþróttum, sundi, dansi, hestaíþróttum, golfi, blaki og Skólahreysti.”^[6] It describes Skólahreysti as “árleg keppni grunnskólanema í 8.-10. bekk þar sem lið úr grunnskólum um allt land keppa í fjölbreyttum þrautum sem prófa styrk, þol, kraft og samvinnu.”^[6] RÚV's news service reported on 23 May 2026 that Grunnskóli Húnaþings vestra won the 2026 final with 60 points.^[7]

How large is RÚV's audience?

Iceland's broadcast audience currency is Gallup's measurement. RÚV's 2025 annual report states that “69% horfa á RÚV í hverri viku”, and gives its source as “Útvarp og sjónvarp, ljósvakamælingar Gallups 2025”. The report gives the same source for its statements that 52% watch RÚV's news each week and that 50% listen to Rás 1 and/or Rás 2 each week.^[3] The report as retrieved does not say whether these are annual averages or a particular week's reading, and it gives no audience figure for any sport broadcast.^[3] Its programme review states only that the national teams placed at the top of the year's list of most-watched television.^[6]

Gallup's own public results page gives only market-level figures, such as “Um 100.000 manns horfa á fréttatíma íslensku sjónvarpsstöðvanna”, without naming a period on the page; channel-level results sit behind a login.^[8]

A monitoring body has characterised RÚV's position. Reporters Without Borders, which ranks Iceland 12th of 180 with a score of 82.77 in its 2026 Index, states that “The broadcast market is dominated by the public broadcaster RUV.”^[2] That is the monitoring body's characterisation, not a measured figure.

Since when has RÚV existed?

The statute in force is recent even though the broadcaster is not. Act 23/2013 is dated 20 March 2013, and it is the text that now defines RÚV as a public limited company owned by the state.^[1] RÚV's 2025 annual report dates its broadcasting from 1930: “Safn Ríkisútvarpsins varðveitir sjónvarps- og útvarpsefni frá upphafi útsendinga árið 1930.”^[9] That is the broadcaster's own statement; no independent source for the date was retrieved.

The funding model is set in the same Act. Article 14 provides for a special fee levied by the Director of Internal Revenue alongside other public charges, on individuals and legal persons liable to income tax, with exemptions, which “skal nema 22.200 kr. ár hvert á hvern einstakling og lögaðila og rennur það í ríkissjóð”, and for an annual budget appropriation at least equal to the budget's estimate of the fee's revenue.^[1] The fee figure is the one printed in the consolidated edition of 1 September 2026, where it carries a footnote to Act 99/2025.

Why does RÚV matter in Iceland's sport?

Its sport output is shaped by its own statute. Article 3 of Act 23/2013 requires sports programmes among its minimum content and requires it to cover the fields of culture, arts and sport in Iceland and abroad, and article 7 permits it to take sponsorship for broadcasts of domestic sporting events while prohibiting programme sponsorship generally.^[1]

It reported on 24 October 2025 that it had secured the men's FIFA World Cup of 2026 and 2030.^[5] Its 2025 annual report lists four championships with Icelandic teams to which it held rights that year.^[6]

It carries school sport to a national audience: Skólahreysti's finals are in its annual list of domestic championships shown, and its news service reported the 2026 winner.^[6][7]

And its annual report gives its weekly reach as 69%, citing Gallup's 2025 broadcast measurement.^[3]