SVT Europa
Encyclopedia
SVT World is an international television channel
from the Swedish
broadcaster Sveriges Television
. The channel is available on satellite in Europe and much of Africa, Australia and Asia, terrestrially in the whole of Finland
and IPTV in North America
.
The channel launched in 1988 as TV4 broadcasting a mix of SVT1
and SVT2
terrestrially to the Swedish-speaking
areas of southern Finland
. The channel was later renamed "SVT4". On December 10, 1997 the channel started broadcasting from the Sirius 2 satellite to all of Europe and was renamed SVT Europa. Initially, only regular households and hotels in the Nordic countries
were allowed to receive the channel, but in 1999, cable networks in Spain
were allowed to distribute the channel and in 2000 hotels outside the Nordic countries were allowed to include the channel.
In 2005, SVT Europa started broadcasting on the Thaicom 5
satellite and thereby became available in parts of Africa
, Asia
, and Australia
, although this require a large satellite dish of about 2–3 metres. SVT Europa no longer broadcasts from the Sirius 2 satellite, it is now available via the satellite Eurobird 9
.
The broadcasts are mostly made up of the Swedish language
programmes from SVT1
and SVT2
. If both SVT1 and SVT2 show a programme for which SVT does not have international rights, programmes from SVT24
or Kunskapskanalen
are shown. When SVT1 and SVT2 are not broadcasting, SVT24 is shown. Teletext pages from SVT Text are included in the broadcasts. The radio channels Radio Sweden and SR P4 are also included with SVT Europa.
Analogue terrestrial broadcasts in Finland ceased in 1 September 2007 when Finland switched completely to digital television. On that day, SVT Europa started broadcasting as a digital pay-tv channel there. In September 2011, however, it became a free-to-air channel again, sharing a channel with YLE FST5 in southern Finland and the Swedish-speaking Ostrobothnia.
To reflect the fact that the channel is now broadcast in four continents, its named was changed to SVT World in mid-April 2009. With the name change the channel moved its playout centre, which allowed it to broadcast in the widescreen format (instead of the 4:3 letterbox format used until then) and time-shift programmes to be broadcast when it is night-time in Sweden. The channel will also get new graphics.
Television channel
A television channel is a physical or virtual channel over which a television station or television network is distributed. For example, in North America, "channel 2" refers to the broadcast or cable band of 54 to 60 MHz, with carrier frequencies of 55.25 MHz for NTSC analog video and...
from the Swedish
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....
broadcaster Sveriges Television
Sveriges Television
Sveriges Television AB , Sweden's Television, is a national television broadcaster based in Sweden, funded by a compulsory fee to be paid by all television owners...
. The channel is available on satellite in Europe and much of Africa, Australia and Asia, terrestrially in the whole of Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
and IPTV in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
.
The channel launched in 1988 as TV4 broadcasting a mix of SVT1
SVT1
SVT1 is the primary television station of the Swedish public service broadcaster Sveriges Television in Sweden.-History:The channel began broadcasting in 1956 and was known as Radiotjänst TV, A year later, it was renamed Sveriges Radio TV. In 1969, the second television station TV2 was launched and...
and SVT2
SVT2
SVT2, until 1996 TV2, is one of two television channels broadcast by Sveriges Television in Sweden. It was started by Sveriges Radio in 1969. SVT2 is generally more specialist, compared to SVT1.-History:...
terrestrially to the Swedish-speaking
Swedish language
Swedish is a North Germanic language, spoken by approximately 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along its coast and on the Åland islands. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish...
areas of southern Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
. The channel was later renamed "SVT4". On December 10, 1997 the channel started broadcasting from the Sirius 2 satellite to all of Europe and was renamed SVT Europa. Initially, only regular households and hotels in the Nordic countries
Nordic countries
The Nordic countries make up a region in Northern Europe and the North Atlantic which consists of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden and their associated territories, the Faroe Islands, Greenland and Åland...
were allowed to receive the channel, but in 1999, cable networks in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
were allowed to distribute the channel and in 2000 hotels outside the Nordic countries were allowed to include the channel.
In 2005, SVT Europa started broadcasting on the Thaicom 5
Thaicom
Thaicom is the name of a series of communications satellites operated out of Thailand and the name of Thaicom Public Company Limited, which is the company that owns and operates the THAICOM satellite fleet and other telecommunication businesses in Thailand and throughout the...
satellite and thereby became available in parts of Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
, Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
, and Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, although this require a large satellite dish of about 2–3 metres. SVT Europa no longer broadcasts from the Sirius 2 satellite, it is now available via the satellite Eurobird 9
Eurobird
Eurobird is the name for a set of satellites owned by Eutelsat. The Eurobird satellites provide broadcasting and telecommunication services primarily to the Western and Central European region from orbital positions of 28.5, 25.5 and 33 degrees East....
.
The broadcasts are mostly made up of the Swedish language
Swedish language
Swedish is a North Germanic language, spoken by approximately 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along its coast and on the Åland islands. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish...
programmes from SVT1
SVT1
SVT1 is the primary television station of the Swedish public service broadcaster Sveriges Television in Sweden.-History:The channel began broadcasting in 1956 and was known as Radiotjänst TV, A year later, it was renamed Sveriges Radio TV. In 1969, the second television station TV2 was launched and...
and SVT2
SVT2
SVT2, until 1996 TV2, is one of two television channels broadcast by Sveriges Television in Sweden. It was started by Sveriges Radio in 1969. SVT2 is generally more specialist, compared to SVT1.-History:...
. If both SVT1 and SVT2 show a programme for which SVT does not have international rights, programmes from SVT24
SVT24
SVT24 or 24 is a Swedish language TV channel broadcast by Sveriges Television . It started broadcasting in 1999 as a dedicated news channel. In 2003 extended its scope to include other current events-related programmes and sports in the weekends...
or Kunskapskanalen
Kunskapskanalen
Kunskapskanalen is a Swedish language television channel broadcasting educational and factual programming between 9 a.m. and 01 a.m. all days of the week...
are shown. When SVT1 and SVT2 are not broadcasting, SVT24 is shown. Teletext pages from SVT Text are included in the broadcasts. The radio channels Radio Sweden and SR P4 are also included with SVT Europa.
Analogue terrestrial broadcasts in Finland ceased in 1 September 2007 when Finland switched completely to digital television. On that day, SVT Europa started broadcasting as a digital pay-tv channel there. In September 2011, however, it became a free-to-air channel again, sharing a channel with YLE FST5 in southern Finland and the Swedish-speaking Ostrobothnia.
To reflect the fact that the channel is now broadcast in four continents, its named was changed to SVT World in mid-April 2009. With the name change the channel moved its playout centre, which allowed it to broadcast in the widescreen format (instead of the 4:3 letterbox format used until then) and time-shift programmes to be broadcast when it is night-time in Sweden. The channel will also get new graphics.