DR2
Encyclopedia
DR2 is a Danish
television station
. It is part of Danmarks Radio
, the public service
broadcasting company of Denmark.
It was launched in 1996 as a satellite
-/cable
-only channel. This was highly controversial at the time, as it was considered close to a breach of public service principles that the new station did not reach all viewers. Adding to the critics' cause was the fact that DR did in fact have broadband spectrum
available for terrestrial broadcasts
. However, this was being reserved for digital broadcasting
tests. The less-than-100%-coverage coupled with a "highbrow
" reputation resulted in low ratings which in turn earned it the nickname "the secret channel" to the regret of the director general who had been pushing the line "my channel" (in the sense of programmes appealing to individuals, not the whole family as DR1 supposedly). This was finally remedied on March 31, 2006 when terrestrial digital broadcasts started.
It most resembles the British BBC Four
in that its main output is experimental comedy, documentaries and in-depth news programmes. It has earned much praise for high quality shows, especially in the first category, with series like Casper & Mandrilaftalen
and Drengene fra Angora
.
Den 11. time
was a talkshow on the channel.
It also broadcasts many British
productions, e.g. crime dramas such as Inspector Morse
, Midsomer Murders
and Prime Suspect.
Other programmes broadcast from the channel are The Power of Nightmares
(as Frygtens politik) and The Great Global Warming Swindle
(as Den store løgn om global opvarmning, 12 July 2007).
Every Saturday DR2 broadcasts the greenlandic language News bulletin Nyheder fra Grønland produced by KNR
After the introduction of digital television in Denmark, on November 1:st 2009, the channel is broadcasted free via the DVB-T
standard and MPEG4 code. It now reaches the whole country and also the nearby east side of Øresund sea to southernmost Sweden
. (Swedish channels reaches the Copenhagen metropolitan area as well)
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
television station
Television station
A television station is a business, organisation or other such as an amateur television operator that transmits content over terrestrial television. A television transmission can be by analog television signals or, more recently, by digital television. Broadcast television systems standards are...
. It is part of Danmarks Radio
Danmarks Radio
DR – officially rendered into English as the Danish Broadcasting Corporation – is Denmark's national broadcasting corporation. Founded in 1925 as a public-service organization, it is today Denmark's oldest and largest electronic media enterprise...
, the public service
Public broadcasting
Public broadcasting includes radio, television and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service. Public broadcasters receive funding from diverse sources including license fees, individual contributions, public financing and commercial financing.Public broadcasting may be...
broadcasting company of Denmark.
It was launched in 1996 as a satellite
Satellite television
Satellite television is television programming delivered by the means of communications satellite and received by an outdoor antenna, usually a parabolic mirror generally referred to as a satellite dish, and as far as household usage is concerned, a satellite receiver either in the form of an...
-/cable
Cable television
Cable television is a system of providing television programs to consumers via radio frequency signals transmitted to televisions through coaxial cables or digital light pulses through fixed optical fibers located on the subscriber's property, much like the over-the-air method used in traditional...
-only channel. This was highly controversial at the time, as it was considered close to a breach of public service principles that the new station did not reach all viewers. Adding to the critics' cause was the fact that DR did in fact have broadband spectrum
Electromagnetic spectrum
The electromagnetic spectrum is the range of all possible frequencies of electromagnetic radiation. The "electromagnetic spectrum" of an object is the characteristic distribution of electromagnetic radiation emitted or absorbed by that particular object....
available for terrestrial broadcasts
Terrestrial television
Terrestrial television is a mode of television broadcasting which does not involve satellite transmission or cables — typically using radio waves through transmitting and receiving antennas or television antenna aerials...
. However, this was being reserved for digital broadcasting
Digital broadcasting
Digital broadcasting is the practice of using digital data rather than analogue waveforms to carry broadcasts over television channels or assigned radio frequency bands...
tests. The less-than-100%-coverage coupled with a "highbrow
Highbrow
Used colloquially as a noun or adjective, highbrow is synonymous with intellectual; as an adjective, it also means elite, and generally carries a connotation of high culture. The word draws its metonymy from the pseudoscience of phrenology, and was originally simply a physical descriptor...
" reputation resulted in low ratings which in turn earned it the nickname "the secret channel" to the regret of the director general who had been pushing the line "my channel" (in the sense of programmes appealing to individuals, not the whole family as DR1 supposedly). This was finally remedied on March 31, 2006 when terrestrial digital broadcasts started.
It most resembles the British BBC Four
BBC Four
BBC Four is a British television network operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation and available to digital television viewers on Freeview, IPTV, satellite and cable....
in that its main output is experimental comedy, documentaries and in-depth news programmes. It has earned much praise for high quality shows, especially in the first category, with series like Casper & Mandrilaftalen
Casper & Mandrilaftalen
Casper & Mandrilaftalen was a Danish cult TV program aired on DR2 in 1999.-Background:Casper & Mandrilaftalen was a surrealistic comedy sketch and talk show hosted by Casper Christensen. The show was created by Christensen and two other Danish comedians Lasse Rimmer and Lars Hjortshøj. Frank Hvam...
and Drengene fra Angora
Drengene fra Angora
Drengene fra Angora is a Danish television satirical comedy series.First airing in 2004, it has acquired cult status in its native Denmark. Among its more popular sketches are Team Easy On, Landmandssønnerne og far, and Spændende mennesker....
.
Den 11. time
Den 11. time
Den 11. time was a Danish television talkshow on DR2. Despite its name, it aired at 23:00 on DR2 weekly on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. The show was hosted by Mikael Bertelsen, and his editor, Mads Brügger would occasionally step in as host for a given programme.Den 11...
was a talkshow on the channel.
It also broadcasts many British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
productions, e.g. crime dramas such as Inspector Morse
Inspector Morse (TV series)
Inspector Morse is a detective drama based on Colin Dexter's series of Chief Inspector Morse novels. The series starred John Thaw as Chief Inspector Morse and Kevin Whately as Sergeant Lewis. Dexter makes a cameo appearance in all but three of the episodes....
, Midsomer Murders
Midsomer Murders
Midsomer Murders is a British television detective drama that has aired on ITV since 1997. The show is based on the books by Caroline Graham, as originally adapted by Anthony Horowitz. The lead character is DCI Tom Barnaby who works for Causton CID. When Nettles left the show in 2011 he was...
and Prime Suspect.
Other programmes broadcast from the channel are The Power of Nightmares
The Power of Nightmares
The Power of Nightmares, subtitled The Rise of the Politics of Fear, is a BBC documentary film series, written and produced by Adam Curtis. Its three one-hour parts consist mostly of a montage of archive footage with Curtis's narration...
(as Frygtens politik) and The Great Global Warming Swindle
The Great Global Warming Swindle
The Great Global Warming Swindle is a polemical documentary film that suggests that the scientific opinion on climate change is influenced by funding and political factors, and questions whether scientific consensus on anthropogenic global warming exists....
(as Den store løgn om global opvarmning, 12 July 2007).
Every Saturday DR2 broadcasts the greenlandic language News bulletin Nyheder fra Grønland produced by KNR
Kalaallit Nunaata Radioa
Kalaallit Nunaata Radioa is the national public broadcasting corporation of Greenland, based in the country's capital city, Nuuk....
After the introduction of digital television in Denmark, on November 1:st 2009, the channel is broadcasted free via the DVB-T
DVB-T
DVB-T is an abbreviation for Digital Video Broadcasting — Terrestrial; it is the DVB European-based consortium standard for the broadcast transmission of digital terrestrial television that was first published in 1997 and first broadcast in the UK in 1998...
standard and MPEG4 code. It now reaches the whole country and also the nearby east side of Øresund sea to southernmost Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
. (Swedish channels reaches the Copenhagen metropolitan area as well)