 | |
| Country | Netherlands |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | National. Also available inBelgium andGermany. |
| Headquarters | Hilversum |
| Programming | |
| Language(s) | Dutch |
| Picture format | 1080iHDTV (downscaled to16:9576i for theSDTV feed) |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | NPO |
| Sister channels | NPO 1 NPO 3 NPO 1 Extra NPO 2 Extra NPO Politiek en Nieuws |
| History | |
| Launched | 1 October 1964; 60 years ago (1964-10-01) |
| Former names | Nederland 2 (1964–1990, 2000–2014) TV2 (1990–2000) |
| Links | |
| Website | NPO 2 website |
| Availability | |
| Terrestrial | |
| Digitenne (FTA) | Channel 2 (HD) |
| Streaming media | |
| Ziggo GO | Watch live (Europe only) |
| KPN iTV Online | Watch live (Europe only) |
| NPO Start | Watch Live |
NPO 2 (known asNederland 2[ˌneːdərlɑnˈtʋeː] until 2014) is a Dutch television channel, the sister channel ofNPO 1 andNPO 3. It was established on 1 October 1964 at 20:00, initially with a 2.5-hour schedule until 22:30.
NPO 2 tends to broadcast arts, culture, politics, news, current affairs, documentaries and religious programmes. In the mornings, NPO 2 simulcasts NPO 1's news bulletins with sign language.
The channel is also available on cable companies in its overseas dependencies in the Caribbean, either live or time-shifted.[1][2][3]
Test transmissions started on 4 March 1964. These broadcasts were only received through theIJsselstein-Lopik transmitter. On 1 October 1964, the official broadcasts ofNederland 2 started and the first public broadcasting channelNTS was renamed intoNederland 1.[4] In September 1967,colour broadcasts were introduced on Nederland 2.
After the launch ofNederland 3 in 1988, Nederland 2 became the mainstay channel of the broadcastersAVRO,TROS,VOO/Veronica andVPRO, earning it the nicknameATV. On 30 September 1991, AVRO moved to Nederland 1 whereasVARA moved to this channel. Another restructuring was made on 28 September 1992 whenEO moved from Nederland 1 to Nederland 2 and in return, VARA and VPRO moved to Nederland 3. In 1995 VOO/Veronica split from the Netherlands Public Broadcasting to become a commercial channel.
On 16 September 2007 theNPO channels Nederland 1, Nederland 2, and Nederland 3 switched completely toanamorphic widescreen, before that time some of the programming was already broadcast in widescreen.
On 4 July 2009, all three channels begansimulcasting in1080ihigh-definition.[5] Before the launch of the permanent HD service, a test version of the Nederland 1 HD channel was made available from 2 June 2008 until 24 August 2008 in order to broadcastEuro 2008, the2008 Tour de France, and the2008 Summer Olympics in HD.
On 12 March 2013, the NPO announced that Nederland 1, 2 and 3 will be renamed as NPO 1, 2 and 3. The reason for this change is to make the channels and their programmes more recognizable.[6] The rebranding completed on 19 August 2014.[7]
NPO 2 is aimed at viewers who wish for a more intelligent style of programming. Fixtures of the channel's schedule include:
Cultural programmes are generally broadcast during the day on Saturdays, and Sunday mornings are home to religious programmes, such as theBBC'sSongs of Praise.
