Sjónvarpið
 |
|
| Type | Broadcast television channel |
|---|---|
| Country | Iceland |
| Availability | National; also partially distributed over the Internet and on Thor 5 |
| Owner | RÚV, the Icelandic National Broadcasting Service |
|
Key people
|
Magnús Geir Þórðarson, CEO |
|
Launch date
|
30 September 1966 |
|
Former names
|
Sjónvarpið (1966–2011) |
|
Official website
|
www.ruv.is |
RÚV (named Sjónvarpið (English: 'The TV') before 31 March 2011) is the television channel of RÚV, the Icelandic National Broadcasting Service, launched in 1966. The channel broadcasts primarily news, sports, cultural programs, children's material, American, British & Nordic films and entertainment programming. Among its highest-rated programs are the comedy sketch show Spaugstofan (now revoked and moved to Stöð 2) and Fréttir (News).
The network made its first transmission on 30 September 1966. To begin with, transmissions only took place on Wednesdays and Fridays, only gradually expanding to the rest of the week through the years, but there were no transmissions on Thursdays. In addition, no television was broadcast in July. Transmissions in July began in 1983. Having lost its monopoly and sharing the market with Stöð 2 a year before, Sjónvapið ended the era of television-free Thursdays on 1 October 1987, resulting in the first full week of television in Iceland.
Test colour transmission commenced in 1973 and started full-time in 1976. From September 1981 onwards, the channel greatly benefited from Iceland's connection to the rest of the world via satellite. Starting on March 1, 1982, Icelandic television viewers were able to watch daily reports from abroad on their evening newscast. Live broadcasts from the rest of Europe, such as the Eurovision Song Contest, commenced for the first time in May 1986. RÚV's teletext service, Textavarp, was inaugurated on the 25th anniversary of Icelandic television in 1991.
As late as 2000, television only aired for 8 hours each day, starting at around 4.35pm and ending at around 0.35am in the weekdays. The number of hours of television aired per week changes every weeks an days, with transmissions during the weekend being the longest. RUV is starting at 7am on Saturdays and Sundays. During the week, however, television transmissions still starts between 3pm and 5:30pm and ends between 0:00am and 1:30am. During downtime, the station carries its daily schedule and a news ticker, complete with audio from Rás 2 (Channel 2).
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Wikipedia