Television broadcasting in Greece began in 1966, preceded in 1951 by statute 1963 permitting television broadcasting.
Canal+, also spelt Canal Plus and sometimes abbreviated C+ or Canal, is a French premium television channel owned by the Groupe Canal+. The channel was launched in November 1984, and broadcasts to Metropolitan France. It broadcasts several kinds of programming, mostly encrypted, but some unencrypted content can be viewed free of charge.
The pay television, also known as subscription television, premium television or, when referring to an individual service, a premium channel, refers to subscription-based television services, usually provided by multichannel television providers, but also increasingly via digital terrestrial and streaming television. In the United States, subscription television began in the late 1970s and early 1980s in the form of encrypted analog over-the-air broadcast television which could be decrypted with special equipment. The concept rapidly expanded through the multi-channel transition and into the post-network era. Other parts of the world beyond the United States, such as France and Latin America have also offered encrypted analog terrestrial signals available for subscription.
Pink TV is Europe's second gay satellite channel, started in France on 25 October 2004, on a subscription basis, mostly funded by TF1 and Canal Plus terrestrial channels in France. It is now possible to access Pink TV via satellite, cable and DSL providers. Highlights include Queer as Folk, as well as talkshows. There is an X-rated film four times a week after midnight, and the channel broadcasts 24 hours per day, including productions from porn studios including French Twinks. Pink X launched in 2012 a pornographic reward, the PinkX Gay Video Awards.
The Spice Networks are a group of television channels operated on a pay-per-view basis that broadcast pornographic content. The channels are owned by the adult entertainment conglomerate Aylo, but they were originally launched by Playboy Enterprises in March 1994. They are available via cable, IPTV, and satellite in over 72 countries including the United States and formerly New Zealand.
Groupe Canal+, also known as Canal+ Group in English, is a French media and telecommunications conglomerate based in Paris, owned and controlled by Vivendi. It runs its own subscription TV channels in France, distributes third-party channels and services, and is a major source of finance for domestic film production, participating in the financing of the vast majority of films produced in France. It also has its own subsidiary companies with direct involvement in film production and distribution, such as StudioCanal. Apart from extensive operations in mainland France, the company owns many subsidiaries and operates in countries across Europe, Africa, the Asia-Pacific region, and in French Overseas Territories.
Television in Belgium was introduced in 1953 and began with one channel each in Dutch and French. The country is heavily cabled, with 93% of households watching television through cable as of 2003.
AB Sat is a package of digital terrestrial television channels offered by the satellite companies Hot Bird and Astra and marketed in France, Belgium, Switzerland and Germany. The channels are all run by the cable operators and certain networks ADSL. ABSAT has a stake on two digital terrestrial television channels. The company is chaired by Michele Cotta.
In the United Kingdom, pornography is regulated by a variety of laws, regulations, judicial processes, and voluntary schemes. Pornographic material generally has to be assessed by regulators or courts to determine its legality. British censorship laws with regard to pornography have often been some of the most restrictive in Western Europe.
Sport+ was a French pay television channel on cable and satellite owned by Canal+ and is devoted to live sports broadcasting.
'Zik was a French television channel, owned by AB Groupe.
Toute l'Histoire is a French television channel based on historical documentaries.
Action is a French television channel which shows action films.
Ciné First was a French television channel, part of the AB Groupe which shows exclusive films, oriented towards an adult audience.
RTL9 is a French-language Luxembourgish television channel shown in Luxembourg, France, Monaco, Africa and the French-speaking regions of Switzerland.
Home Video Channel (HVC) was a British cable television channel that began operating in 1985, broadcasting low-budget films between 8:00 p.m. and midnight. Film genres included horror, action, adventure, science fiction, and erotica. In 1992, a second channel, The Adult Channel, was launched by HVC's owner, Home Video Channel Limited (HVCL). It broadcast erotic films and softcore pornography.
Peretz was a Russian national television channel, broadcasting original entertainment programs, as well as Russian and Western television shows.
Eutelsat 5 West A, formerly Atlantic Bird 3 was a communications satellite belonging to the operator Eutelsat. Situated at 5° West, it broadcast satellite television, radio and other digital data. Developed for France Telecom it was transferred soon after its launch to the operator Eutelsat. It entered operational service in early September 2002. Its anticipated working life was 15 years. It was decommissioned in January 2023.
SPI International is an international media company based in the Netherlands. It is owned by Canal+ Group. It operates 42 TV channels, multiple digital products across six continents, and is a major player in content distribution and broadcasting worldwide.
