Launched October 1985 Picture format 4:3 PAL Broadcast area European Union Ceased operations November 1986 | Closed 27 November 1986 Country European Union Founded October 1985 | |
Owned by ARD, RTÉ, RAI, NOS and RTP Founders ARD, Raidió Teilifís Éireann, RAI, Rádio e Televisão de Portugal, Nederlandse Omroep Stichting Owners ARD, Raidió Teilifís Éireann, RAI, Nederlandse Omroep Stichting, Rádio e Televisão de Portugal | ||
EUROPA-TV was a consortium of five European public service broadcasters from Germany (ARD), Ireland (RTÉ), Italy (RAI), the Netherlands (NOS), and Portugal (RTP).
It aspired to be pan-European not only with regard to its geographical reach but also its programming content. It came after the Eurikon 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 35 million Swiss francs.
Operation
EUROPA-TV started its transmissions in October 1985.
Initially only available in the Netherlands, it expanded its reach to 4.5 million households across Europe. This included access to 1.5 million households in Portugal where it was transmitted terrestrially 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, having already exhausted its initial three-year budget.