Television in Iceland
Television in Iceland began in 1951 when the American Forces Radio and Television Service started an English-language television service broadcasting from Naval Air Station Keflavik, which operated until 2006. The first Icelandic-language television broadcasts started in September 1966 with the launch of Sjónvarpið. Channels can be received via DVB-T, broadband with Síminn, IPTV or Digital Ísland from Vodafone Iceland.
List of channels
Free-to-air channels
Subscription channels
Defunct channels
- ÍNN - Owned and operated by Ingvi Hrafn Jónsson
- iSTV
- NFS, now a news service providing news for visir.is and television channels of 365
- Skjár tveir, was meant to be an ad-free channel paid for by the viewers. It didn't go as planned and soon merged with Skjár einn.
- Stöð 1, launched 29 Oct 2010. Entertainment channel, free to air, non-subscription. Reaches 98% of all households in Iceland.
- Stöð þrjú, the old channel was used. But was bought quickly and shut down in the meaning, it was replaced by Stöð 2.
- Skjár sport, showed Premier League matches for the seasons 2005–2006 and 2006–2007.
- Stöð 2 Extra Entertainment channel previously available as free but is now only available as a complement to Stöð 2 subscription
- Nova TV, music videos – free channel
- Fasteignasjónvarpið, a channel that offers real estate
- Mikligarður, opened 15 March 2014 – closed 1 July 2014. Intended for ages 34+ with an emphasis on females. Programming was all domestic and included paid presentations. Broadcasts was 24/7 and in HD.
International channels available in Iceland
| Channels | Owner / Genre |
| NRK 1 | NRK |
| NRK 2 | NRK |
| NRK Ultra | NRK |
| SVT1 | Sveriges Television |
| SVT2 | Sveriges Television |
| DR1 | DR |
| DR2 | DR |
| DR 3 / DR Ramasjang | DR |
| AMC | AMC Networks International Zone |
| Jim Jam Euro | AMC Networks International Zone |
| Travel Channel | AMC Networks International Zone |
| Food Network | AMC Networks International Zone |
| CBS Reality | AMC Networks International Zone |
| Extreme Sports Channel | AMC Networks International Zone |
| Fine Living Network | AMC Networks International Zone |
| TCM | Warner Media |
| Star | Warner Media |
| CNN International | Warner Media |
| Cartoon Network | Warner Media |
| Boomerang | Warner Media |
| E!Entertainment | Comcast |
| Style | Comcast |
| CNBC | Comcast |
| BBC Entertainment | BBC Worldwide |
| BBC Lifestyle | BBC Worldwide |
| BBC Knowledge | BBC Worldwide |
| BBC World News | BBC Worldwide |
| National Geographic Channel | NG Channels/Fox International Channels/BSKYB |
| Nat Geo Wild | NG Channels/Fox International Channels/BSKYB |
| Baby TV | Fox International Channels |
| SKY News | Sky plc |
| Animal Planet | Discovery Networks Northern Europe |
| Discovery Science | Discovery Networks Northern Europe |
| Discovery World | Discovery Networks Northern Europe |
| Discovery Channel | Discovery Networks Northern Europe |
| ID | Discovery Networks Northern Europe |
| TLC | Discovery Networks Northern Europe |
| Disney Channel | Disney–ABC Television Group |
| Disney Junior | Disney–ABC Television Group |
| Disney XD | Disney–ABC Television Group |
| TV5 Monde | France |
| Das Erste | Germany |
| TVE | Spain |
| Rai Uno | RAI |
| Rai Tre | RAI |
| TVP | Poland |
| Eurochannel | France |
| Eurosport | Discovery Communications/TF1 Group |
| Eurosport 2 | Discovery Communications/TF1 Group |
| Arte | ARTE GEIE, ARTE France, ARTE Deutschland TV GmbH |
| Prosieben | ProSiebenSat.1 Media SE |
| SAT1 | ProSiebenSat.1 Media SE |
| ZDF | Germany – independent nonprofit institution |
| France 2 | Part of the state-owned France Télévisions group |
| France 3 | Part of the state-owned France Télévisions group |
| France 24 | France – France Médias Monde |
| M6 | M6 Group |
| Ginx | Ginx TV Limited |
| NBA TV | National Basketball Association operated by Warner Media |
| Blue Hustler | Sapphire Media International BV |
| VH1 | Viacom International Media Networks |
| MTV Hits | Viacom International Media Networks |
| MTV Rocks | Viacom International Media Networks |
| C Music TV | C Music Entertainment Ltd |
| I Concerts HD | TRANSMEDIA COMMUNICATIONS SA – Switzerland |
| Heat | Bauer Media Group and Channel Four Television Corporation |
| Magic | Bauer Media Group and Channel Four Television Corporation |
| Luxe TV | Opuntia SA |
Overview of Icelandic TV
TV appearances
Test card for RÚV
The testcard of RÚV was PM5544, introduced in the 1970s.Text has been changed three times, minor change five times, returned two times
- 1970–1994 – "RUV – ISLAND"
- *1993 – "RÚV – ÍSLAND"
- 1995 – Added time and date
- 2000 – Remove time and date
- *Remove "ÍSLAND" and replace with the moving bar
- 2002 – Return the 1995 version
- 2006 – Return the 2000 version
- 2009 – Changed to PM5644
Closing and opening times
RÚV still closes down at night.RÚV
- 1966–present opens at 16:30 for weekdays and closes at 0:00.
- 1966–2004 Weekends and holidays open at 9:00, though sometimes with midday break.
- 2004–present weekends and holidays open at 8:00.
Stöð 2
- 1986–1988 opens at 8:00 and close at 23:00.
- 1988–1995 opens at 6:00 and close at 0:00.
- 1995–present open 24 hours.