The advent of cable, satellite and commercial television in Sweden from the 1980s was considered to be a turbulent period within the Swedish mass media sector, which was until then entirely dominated by the monopoly public radio and television channels as well as the domestic press.

In the spring of 1993, the Riksdag decided, after a one-man investigation, to change the ownership of the public service broadcasters to reflect the greatly altered mass media landscape.

The three ownership groups now no longer wanted to continue as owners, in part because some of them had engaged in competing activities.

The three public broadcasters (SVT, SR and UR), through said amendment came to be owned by separate management foundations from 1 January 1994.

The Swedish government and the Riksdag considered this organisational change to be justified because the three management foundations had the same overall goals.