KNR1

KNR1

Country	Denmark
Broadcast area	Greenland
Headquarters	Nuuk, Greenland
Programming
Languages	Greenlandic Danish (subtitles)
Picture format	16:9 720p (HDTV)
Ownership
Owner	KNR
Sister channels	KNR2
History
Launched	1 November 1982;43 years ago (1982-11-01)
Former names	KNR (1982–2013)
Availability
Terrestrial
Nanoq Media	Channel 1
Streaming media
Watch KNR1 online

KNR1 is a Greenlandic television channel owned by Kalaallit Nunaata Radioa. All programming is in Greenlandic; however Danish subtitles are available, including its news service Qanorooq. In the past, it used to carry programmes from DR and TV 2, but this arrangement ended when DR's channels were made free-to-air on the terrestrial platform in January 2013.

History

KNR was not the first television station in Greenland.

There were attempts at bringing television to Greenland in the late 1960s by Jørgen Benzon and Ole Winstedt, creating Godthåb lukkede Telenet (Godthåb Closed-Circuit Television Network) in May 1966. Unlike KNR, it was a cable company, ^[1] eventually becoming Nuuk TV (now Nanoq Media). ^[2]

While KNR was planning its television service, in February 1982, its director Søren Bach started a campaign for viewers to send their photographs for it to use as a continuity device, including pictures of the past that had high historical value. ^[3] On 1 November 1982, KNR started terrestrial television broadcasts, though it was mostly relays of DR programming. ^[4] They were already set on the upcoming general elections, set for April next year. After the elections, KNR would start airing its own programmes for children in an attempt to save the local culture. ^[5]

On 1 September 1989, the first edition of Qanorooq was broadcast. Until 1994, its studio was in a former KNI hangar. ^[6]

KNR faced a fall in television production after 1 August 2002, when Nuuk TV restructured its offer and launched its local channel, coinciding with its conversion into a digital service. The service enabled locals to have access to more, especially foreign, programming, while viewing KNR's programming as having limited resources and lacking quality. ^[4]

In early December 2012, the Autonomous Government approved a plan to increase the number of free-to-air television channels in Greenland. The changes to the system implied the arrival of a second KNR channel, KNR2, as well as relays of DR1, DR2 and DR Ultra. KNR1 used to mix local programming with DR's output, but considering DR1 was going to be made available across Greenland on terrestrial TV, the channel had to reduce its airtime significantly, airing the programme schedule during its downtime. A limited number of foreign programmes was still seen, mostly children's programmes targeting a largely preschool demographic. The changes took place on 7 January 2013. ^[7]

On 21 June 2020, both KNR1 and KNR2 switched to 720p HD resolution. ^[8]

References

1. "Godthåb lukkede telenet". Atuagagdliutit (retrieved via timarit.is) (in Danish). 7 November 1968.
2. "Historie". Nanoq Media (in Danish). Archived from the original on 25 September 2017.
3. "Send bileder til-KNR-TV!". Atuagagdliutit (retrieved via timarit.is) (in Danish). 10 February 1982.
4. International Handbook of Children, Media and Culture. SAGE Publications. 19 February 2008. Retrieved 9 January 2026.
5. "Første valgkamp med TV-dækning". Atuagagdliutit (retrieved via timarit.is) (in Danish). 17 November 1982.
6. "Første udsendelse blev sendt fra chefens kontor: Qanorooq fylder 30 år". KNR (in Danish).
7. Nielsen, Stig Hartvig. "Grønland: Mere grønlandsk tv på KNR". TVnyt.com. Retrieved 5 April 2017.
8. "KNR sendes nu i HD-kvalitet". Sermitsiaq. 25 June 2020. Retrieved 25 June 2020.