Public service has long been notorious for its non-innovative characteristic. With increasing competition from other TV channels and other media, public service broadcasters see a desperate need for innovative strategies to fulfil public service obligations. In Sweden, the local programme producing unit of public service broadcasting company Swedish Television South (Sveriges Television Syd) has turned heavily to universities for aid with innovation; especially to Malmö University and Lund University. This is in line with Swedish Television’s new strategy for collaboration with society. The collaborative approach has taken many different expressions: technology development, common conferences, and programme creation. Using a critical cultural theory perspective on innovation theory, an analysis is made of the reasons for, and the consequences of, the work carried out by public service in collaboration with higher education as innovative strategy. The analysis follows three themes: Competition within Swedish Television creates need for promoting regional innovation Universities as legitimating knowledge and knowing Concrete implications of the innovation strategy of collaboration between PSB and higher education for the renewal of the enlightenment remit of PSB and for the renewal of Universities in the Knowledge Society.