TV4 Sport
Encyclopedia
TV4 Sport is a Swedish sports
television channel
owned by television company TV4 AB
, with the tabloid news paper Expressen
owning a minor share.
cable, the digital "Medium" package from Com Hem
and the "Family" package from Canal Digital
on satellite. Sports rights used by the channel included matches from the football series Superettan
and the Wimbledon
.
In May 2006, it was announced that TV4 AB bought a majority stake in the channel. The channel relaunched as "TV4 Sport-Expressen" with a new logo on 1 June. The deal meant that Sport-Expressen could use several sports rights held by TV4, including reruns of games from the 2006 FIFA World Cup
.
Another change was announced in May 2007. TV4 AB had increased their ownership 66.2 percent. This will see the channel relaunch in September as "TV4 Sport". With the relaunch, it will take the space in the Com Hem
basic package previously occupied by Eurosport
, thereby increasing the penetration for the channel while decreasing it for a major competitor. It will also get a slightly broader content by introducing series and documentaries related to sports.
The change was successful in increasing the ratings for TV4 Sport. In April 2008, TV4 Sport passed Eurosport as the most watched sports channel in Sweden. In January 2008, the channel was launched on the Viasat
satellite platform.
By the end of March 2008, TV4 received a license to broadcast the channel in the Swedish digital terrestrial television network
. The license was valid from 1 April, but it didn't launch immediately, partly due to a disagreement between TV4 and Boxer
over the pricing of the channel. TV4 Sport was finally launched on 11 May 2008, after TV4 and Boxer had reached an agreement that would make the channel available until 30 September.
Swedish Cup Damallsvenskan
Npower Championship Npower League One Serie A TIM
Copa del Rey
Eredivisie
Sanktan Campionato Sammarinese di Calcio
of ice hockey (finals) Elitserien
of bandy Svenska Superligan of floorball Table Tennis League Bundesliga
of handball
Sports channel
Sports channels are television specialty channels broadcast sporting events, usually live, and when not broadcasting events, sports news and other related programming....
television channel
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...
owned by television company TV4 AB
TV4 AB
TV4 Group is a Swedish media company that owns the largest commercial television channel in Sweden, TV4.Since 2007, the company is fully owned by Bonnier through Nordic Broadcasting Oy...
, with the tabloid news paper Expressen
Expressen
Expressen is one of two nationwide evening tabloid newspapers in Sweden, the other being Aftonbladet. Expressen was founded in 1944; its symbol is a wasp and slogans "it stings" or "Expressen to your rescue", always on the reader's side....
owning a minor share.
History
The channel was originally owned by Expressen who launched the channel on 17 March 2005. It was initially available in the analogue basic package from UPCUPC Sweden
UPC Sweden was a Swedish cable television distributor, mainly active in the Stockholm region. It was the second largest cable network in Sweden before it was integrated into Com Hem in 2006....
cable, the digital "Medium" package from Com Hem
Com Hem
Com Hem AB of Sweden, supplies triple play services that include cable tv, digital television, broadband, telephony and HDTV.Founded in 1983 as Televerket Kabel-TV as part of the former state-owned Televerket, the company has been successively named Svenska Kabel-TV AB and Telia InfoMedia...
and the "Family" package from Canal Digital
Canal Digital
Canal Digital is a Scandinavian television distributor and internet service provider that was founded in March 1997 as a joint venture between the French pay-TV company Canal+ and the Norwegian telecommunications operator Telenor...
on satellite. Sports rights used by the channel included matches from the football series Superettan
Superettan
Superettan is the second highest league in the league system of Swedish football and comprises 16 Swedish football teams. It was created in 2000. Before that, the second level league in Sweden had been Division 1....
and the Wimbledon
The Championships, Wimbledon
The Championships, Wimbledon, or simply Wimbledon , is the oldest tennis tournament in the world, considered by many to be the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Club in Wimbledon, London since 1877. It is one of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments, the other three Majors...
.
In May 2006, it was announced that TV4 AB bought a majority stake in the channel. The channel relaunched as "TV4 Sport-Expressen" with a new logo on 1 June. The deal meant that Sport-Expressen could use several sports rights held by TV4, including reruns of games from the 2006 FIFA World Cup
2006 FIFA World Cup
The 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which won the right to host the event in July 2000. Teams representing 198 national football associations from all six...
.
Another change was announced in May 2007. TV4 AB had increased their ownership 66.2 percent. This will see the channel relaunch in September as "TV4 Sport". With the relaunch, it will take the space in the Com Hem
Com Hem
Com Hem AB of Sweden, supplies triple play services that include cable tv, digital television, broadband, telephony and HDTV.Founded in 1983 as Televerket Kabel-TV as part of the former state-owned Televerket, the company has been successively named Svenska Kabel-TV AB and Telia InfoMedia...
basic package previously occupied by Eurosport
Eurosport
Eurosport is a pan-European television sport network operated by French broadcaster TF1 Group. The network of channels are available in 59 countries, in 20 different languages providing viewers with European and international sporting events...
, thereby increasing the penetration for the channel while decreasing it for a major competitor. It will also get a slightly broader content by introducing series and documentaries related to sports.
The change was successful in increasing the ratings for TV4 Sport. In April 2008, TV4 Sport passed Eurosport as the most watched sports channel in Sweden. In January 2008, the channel was launched on the Viasat
Viasat
Viasat is a DBS distributor and TV broadcaster, owned by the Swedish media conglomerate Modern Times Group. Broadcasting from London, the target markets are in the Nordic and the Baltic Countries...
satellite platform.
By the end of March 2008, TV4 received a license to broadcast the channel in the Swedish digital terrestrial television network
Digital terrestrial television in Sweden
Digital terrestrial television was launched in Sweden in 1999. The shutdown of the analogue equivalent started on September 19, 2005, and was finalized on October 29, 2007....
. The license was valid from 1 April, but it didn't launch immediately, partly due to a disagreement between TV4 and Boxer
Boxer TV Access
Boxer TV Access is a Swedish company providing pay television channels on the digital terrestrial television network in Sweden. Modeled on the British ITV Digital, it was founded in October 1999. Some channels on the Swedish DTT are free-to-air, but most of the channels require subscription from...
over the pricing of the channel. TV4 Sport was finally launched on 11 May 2008, after TV4 and Boxer had reached an agreement that would make the channel available until 30 September.
Football
UEFA Europa League SuperettanSuperettan
Superettan is the second highest league in the league system of Swedish football and comprises 16 Swedish football teams. It was created in 2000. Before that, the second level league in Sweden had been Division 1....
Swedish Cup Damallsvenskan
Damallsvenskan
The Damallsvenskan, Swedish for ladies' all-Swedish, is the highest division of women's football in Sweden. It is also referred as to the women's Allsvenskan, this term being used alone to refer to the men's division....
Npower Championship Npower League One Serie A TIM
Serie A
Serie A , now called Serie A TIM due to sponsorship by Telecom Italia, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and has been operating for over eighty years since 1929. It had been organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, but a new...
Copa del Rey
Copa del Rey
The Copa del Rey is an annual football cup competition for Spanish football teams. Its full name is Campeonato de España – Copa de Su Majestad el Rey de Fútbol ....
Eredivisie
Eredivisie
The Eredivisie is the highest football league in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956 two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is currently ranked the ninth best league in Europe by UEFA....
Sanktan Campionato Sammarinese di Calcio
Campionato Sammarinese di Calcio
Campionato Sammarinese di Calcio is an amateur league competition for football clubs located at the top echelon of the Sammarinese football league system and has been operating since 1985...
Other sports
UFC ElitserienElitserien
Elitserien, is a professional ice hockey league composed of twelve teams in Sweden...
of ice hockey (finals) Elitserien
Elitserien (bandy)
The Elitserien is since the 2007–08 season the highest bandy league in Sweden. It consist of 14 teams. The season ends with a final on Studenternas IP in Uppsala. From 2013 the final will be played in Swedbank Arena, Solna....
of bandy Svenska Superligan of floorball Table Tennis League Bundesliga
Bundesliga (handball)
The Handball-Bundesliga is the top German professional handball league. The league has been sponsored by Toyota since 2007 and therefore the league is called the Toyota Handball-Bundesliga...
of handball