Europa TV
| Country |  European Union |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | European Union |
| Programming | |
| Picture format | 4:3 PAL |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Consortium owned by ARD, RTÉ, RAI, NOS and RTP |
| History | |
| Launched | October 1985 |
| Closed | 27 November 1986 |
| Availability | |
EUROPA-TV was a consortium[1] of five European public service broadcasters from Germany (ARD), Ireland (RTÉ), Italy (RAI), the Netherlands (NOS), and Portugal (RTP).[2]
It aspired to be pan-European not only with regard to its geographical reach but also its programming content. It came after the experiment that consisted on the production of an experimental television program which, over a period of five weeks, was distributed in closed-circuit format.
EUROPA-TV was financed through contributions from the Dutch government, the European Commission, the participating broadcast organizations, and through advertising revenues. Its initial three-year budget was 30 million ECUs.
Operation[]
EUROPA-TV started its transmissions on October 5, 1985.[3]
Initially only available in the Netherlands, it expanded its reach to 4.5 million households across Europe via ESA and Eutelsat's ECS-1 satellite. This included access to 1.5 million households in Portugal where it was transmitted terrestrially[4] in RTP2 (on the other countries the signal was distributed by cable).
To overcome language barriers, EUROPA-TV transmitted on several sound channels. Facilities for simultaneous translation (in English, Dutch, German, and Portuguese) enabled audiences to receive the channel in their native tongue. In addition, subtitling in different languages was provided through teletext.
In November 1986 it was forced to cease operations,[5] having already exhausted its initial three-year budget.[2]
See also[]
- International broadcasting
- ARTE
- BBC TV Europe
- Euronews
- Eurosport
- NBC Europe (former Super Channel)
- Music Box (TV channel)
- Sky Television plc
References[]
- ^ "Press corner".
- ^ a b Theiler, Tobias (1999). "Viewers into Europeans?: How the European Union Tried to Europeanize the Audiovisual Sector, and Why it Failed". Canadian Journal of Communication. 24 (4). doi:10.22230/cjc.1999v24n4a1126.
- ^ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: Last transmission EUROPA-TV (29 november 1986). YouTube.
- ^ YouTube. YouTube.
- ^ "Archives". Los Angeles Times.
- Television channels and stations established in 1985
- Multilingual broadcasters