SBS Broadcasting Group
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| Private | |
| Fate | Acquired by ProSiebenSat.1 Media; Nordic operations resold to Discovery Communications |
| Founded | 1989 |
| Headquarters | Luxembourg |
| Website | www.sbsbroadcasting.com (offline) |
SBS Broadcasting Group (normally referred to as just SBS, which originally stood for Scandinavian Broadcasting Systems) was a European and Dutch broadcasting group, operating commercial television, premium pay channels, radio stations and related print businesses in Northern, Western and Central and Eastern Europe.
SBS has broadcasting services in Scandinavia (Denmark, Norway and Sweden), Belgium, Bulgaria, Greece, Hungary, The Netherlands, and Romania.
By July 1994, the time of the CC/ABC-Disney merger, Capital Cities/ABC owned 23% of SBS.
SBS was controlled by funds advised by two private equity firms, Permira and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts. Telegraaf Media Groep N.V. (TMG) of the Netherlands was also a shareholder in SBS, with a 20% equity interest. In 2005, SBS was bought by the equity firms Permira and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR). They also bought the German broadcaster ProSiebenSat.1 Media in early 2007 and on 27 June 2007 it was announced that ProSiebenSat.1 Media acquired the SBS Broadcasting group for 3.3 billion euros from the joint owners. ProSiebenSat.1 Media became the second largest broadcaster of Europe with 48 TV stations. On 14 December 2012 Discovery Communications bought the Nordic portion of SBS for $1.7 billion.
SBS was founded by Harry E. Sloan who bought a stake in the Danish station Kanal 2 (Copenhagen) and Norwegian TVNorge. In 1991, Sloan bought the Swedish Nordic Channel, which was soon renamed Kanal 5 and became the third largest commercial broadcaster in the country. The company was originally known as "TV1", but was renamed "Scandinavian Broadcasting Systems" in 1991. After expanding into Benelux and Eastern Europe, the name was changed again, this time to SBS. In the end of 2011 ProSiebenSat.1 Group has sold its Bulgarian radio stations as well as the music channel the Voice TV to A.E. Best Success Services Bulgaria EOOD. The transaction was closed on November 10, 2011.
Television operations started in 1989 in Scandinavia. In March 2005 SBS acquired C More Entertainment, a Nordic pay tv provider operating under the Canal+ brand, which is now controlled by Sweden's largest broadcaster TV4. C More provides premium sports and movie channels in Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland under the Canal+ and the now defunct C More brand.
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