Television in the Republic of Ireland is available through a variety of platforms. The digital terrestrial television service is known as Saorview and is the primary source of broadcast television since analogue transmissions ended on 24 October 2012. Digital satellite and digital cable are also widely used.
Modern Times Group (MTG) is a digital entertainment company based in Stockholm, Sweden. It formed from the media holdings of investment company Kinnevik, which in 1997 was distributed to the company stockholders. It is a strategic and operational investment holding company, managing a portfolio including gaming companies InnoGames, Ninja Kiwi and Kongregate, and digital network company Zoomin.TV.
Viasat was a satellite and pay television brand, co-owned by the Swedish media group Viaplay Group in the Nordic countries, Antenna Group in Hungary, and by Viasat World internationally. Founded in Sweden in 1991, Viasat has previously been owned by Modern Times Group. The channels of both companies were broadcast from London.
The Player Channel, known as the Poker Channel until 3 December 2012, was a gaming TV network which broadcast to over 30 million households in 30 countries.
Canal Digital was a Nordic pay TV and internet service provider in Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Finland that was founded in March 1997 as a joint venture between the French pay TV company Canal+ and the Norwegian telecommunications operator Telenor.
Television in Hungary was introduced in 1957. Transmission in colour was introduced to Hungarian television for the first time in 1971. Hungary had only one television channel until 1973. It was only in the mid 1990s when private and commercial broadcasting was introduced to Hungary.
Television in Serbia was introduced in 1958. It remains the most popular of the media in Serbia—according to 2009 survey, Serbian people watch on average 6 hours of television per day, making it the highest average in Europe.
Television in Bulgaria was introduced in 1959. Global players such as News Corporation, Modern Times Group, Central European Media Enterprises, Fox Broadcasting Company and others operate the biggest and most popular media outlets in the country.
Digi Communications, also known as RCS & RDS, is a Romanian telecommunications holding company operating in Romania, Spain, Italy and now Portugal. Digi was founded by Zoltán Teszári, who is the majority shareholder, and has been listed on the Bucharest Stock Exchange since May 16, 2017.
National Geographic Channel is a Nordic free-to-air television channel broadcasting documentaries and related programmes to the Nordic countries.
Telia Digital TV is an IPTV distribution platform in Sweden owned by Telia Company. It was launched in January 2005 from a few locations.
AKTA TV was a Romanian DTH platform. It belonged to Digital Cable Systems, a telecommunication operator which offered satellite, cable television, internet and telephony in over 2,500 locations in Romania.
Antenna Group or ANT1 Group, is a media company in Greece and currently the largest Greek media company. It was established on 2 August 1989 by Minos Kyriakou. Today, his son, Theodore Kyriakou, heads up a media empire whose operations include broadcasting, radio, publishing, digital, educational services, telecommunications and a record label. At the cornerstone of the company is ANT1 TV, one of the largest and most successful private television networks in Greece.
Television began in Sweden in 1954 with test transmissions, prior to the opening of the first station, Radiotjänst, two years later. A second channel was launched in 1969. Commercial television arrived in the 1980s through cable television and in 1992, the country's first terrestrial commercial channel was launched.
Television in Romania started in August 1955. State television started to broadcast on 31 December 1956. The second television channel followed in 1968, but between 1985 and 1990, there was only one Romanian channel before the return of the second channel. Private broadcasters arrived in December 1991, with SOTI which was the first private nationwide television station in Central and Eastern Europe. Romania has the highest penetration rates for pay television in the world, with over 98% of all households watching television through cable or satellite.
UPC was the largest cable operator in Switzerland with around 1.1 million residential and business customers and was formed in 1994 through the merger of several cable operators. UPC has been a subsidiary of Liberty Global from 2005 until its discontinuation in 2022.
Turner Classic Movies was a television channel broadcasting "classic" films from the 1930s to the 1990s to Denmark, Finland, Flanders, Iceland, Netherlands, Norway and Sweden. The channel used English audio with optional subtitles in Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Norwegian and Swedish. The channel was commercial-free and films were not interrupted.
Satellite television varies in the different regions around the world.
AXN Spin is a television channel owned by Sony Pictures Television International. When was launched was aimed primarily at a younger audience, which broadcasts reality shows, cartoons, anime and television series, but now shows reruns of other AXN channels.
