Knut Bjørnsen was a former sports commentator

Sports commentator

In sports broadcasting, a commentator gives a running commentary of a game or event in real time, usually during a live broadcast. The comments are normally a voiceover, with the sounds of the action and spectators also heard in the background. In the case of television commentary, the commentator...

 and journalist

Journalist

A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...

 for the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation.

In his youth, Bjørnsen was a promising speed skater

Speed skating

Speed skating, or speedskating is a competitive form of ice skating in which the competitors race each other in traveling a certain distance on skates. Types of speed skating are long track speed skating, short track speed skating, and marathon speed skating...

. He was junior Norwegian champion in 1951. He worked for the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation between 1961 and 1991, and was NRK's main commentator for speed skating most of those years, together with fellow NRK veteran journalist Per Jorsett

Per Jorsett

Per Jorsett is a Norwegian freelance sports reporter, sport historian and sports shooter. He reported for Sportsmanden from 1945 to 1961, and for the newspapers Dagbladet and Nationen. He had commissions for the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation from 1947 to 1991, often along with fellow reporter...

. He also hosted the popular Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation game show

Game show

A game show is a type of radio or television program in which members of the public, television personalities or celebrities, sometimes as part of a team, play a game which involves answering questions or solving puzzles usually for money and/or prizes...

 Kvitt eller dobbelt ("Double or Nothing") for many years. In 1991, Bjørnsen left the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation, and began working for cable channel TV3

TV3 (Viasat)

TV3 is the brand name used by Viasat's flagship channels in Scandinavia, the Baltic States, and Slovenia. Viasat is part of the Swedish media company Modern Times Group...

, where he hosted the game show Lykkehjulet (a Norwegian adaptation of Wheel of Fortune

Wheel of Fortune (U.S. game show)

Wheel of Fortune is an American television game show created by Merv Griffin, which premiered in 1975. Contestants compete to solve word puzzles, similar to those used in Hangman, to win cash and prizes determined by spinning a large wheel. The title refers to the show's giant carnival wheel that...

).

In his later years he spoke out as a supporter of the Progress Party

Progress Party (Norway)

The Progress Party is a political party in Norway which identifies as conservative liberal and libertarian. The media has described it as conservative and right-wing populist...

, having lost his confidence in the Conservative Party

Conservative Party of Norway

The Conservative Party is a Norwegian political party. The current leader is Erna Solberg. The party was since the 1920s consistently the second largest party in Norway, but has been surpassed by the growth of the Progress Party in the late 1990s and 2000s...

.

In April 2008, Bjørnsen was diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer, and he died from the illness seven months later, on 14 November 2008.