| Type | Broadcast television channel |
|---|---|
| Country | Iceland |
| Availability | National; also partially distributed over the Internet |
| Founded | by the Icelandic government |
| Owner | RÚV, the Icelandic National Broadcasting Service |
| Key people | Sigrún Stefánsdóttir, head of programming Óðinn Jónsson, head of news Páll Magnússon, CEO of RÚV |
| Launch date | September 30, 1966 |
| Official website | www.ruv.is |
RÚV (named Sjónvarpið before March 31, 2011) is the television channel of RÚV, the Icelandic National Broadcasting Service, launched in 1966. The channel broadcasts primarily news, sports, cultural programs, children's material, American, British & Nordic films and entertainment programming. Among its highest-rated programs are the comedy sketch show Spaugstofan (now revoked and moved to Stöð 2) and Fréttir (News).
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The network made its first transmission on September 30, 1966. To begin with, transmissions only took place on Wednesdays and Fridays, only gradually expanding to the rest of the week through the years. Until 1983, no television was broadcast in July. Having lost its monopoly and sharing the market with Stöð 2 a year before, Sjónvapið ended the era of television-free Thursdays on October 1, 1987, resulting in the first full week of television in Iceland.
Test colour transmission commenced in 1973 and started full-time in 1976. From September 1981 onwards, the channel greatly benefited from Iceland's connection to the rest of the world via satellite. Starting on March 1, 1982, Icelandic television viewers were able to watch daily reports from abroad on their evening newscast. Live broadcasts from the rest of Europe, such as the Eurovision Song Contest, commenced for the first time in May 1986. RÚV's teletext service, Textavarp, was inaugurated on the 25th anniversary of Icelandic television in 1991.
As late as 2000, television only aired for 9 hours each day, starting at 4.35 p.m. and ending at 1.35 a.m. The number of hours of television aired per week has advanced since then, with transmissions currently starting at 8 a.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. During the week, however, television transmissions can start any time between 3 p.m. and 4:30 p.m., ending between 12 a.m. and 1 a.m. In World Cup 2010 RUV start broadcasting at first match of each day, 11:30 local time. After close, it broadcasts a Philips PM5644 test card with audio from Rás 2 (Channel 2).
From the inauragration of Sjónvarpið in 1966 until as late as 1982, an electronically generated, heavily modified version of the Philips PM5540 monochrome test card was utilized after closedown[1]. In the early 1970s, the Philips PM5544 test card was used for colour transmissions and gradually replaced the previous monochrome test card, with the time and date included in the PM5544 test card from 1995-2000 and again from 2002-2006. In 2009, the Philips PM5644 widescreen test card was introduced to replace its PM5544 forerunner.