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| Country | Netherlands |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Netherlands |
| Headquarters | Amsterdam, Netherlands |
| Programming | |
| Picture format | 1080p60HDTV (downscaled to16:9576i for theSDTV feed) |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Talpa Network |
| Parent | Talpa TV |
| Sister channels | Net5 Veronica SBS9 |
| History | |
| Launched | 28 August 1995; 30 years ago (1995-08-28) |
| Links | |
| Website | www.sbs6.nl |
| Availability | |
| Terrestrial | |
| Digitenne | Channel 6 (HD) |
| Streaming media | |
| Ziggo GO | ZiggoGO.tv (Europe only) |
| KPN iTV Online | Watch live (Europe only) |
SBS6 is a Dutchfree-to-cable commercialTV channel and is a part ofTalpa TV, formerly known as SBS Broadcasting B.V. and now owned byTalpa Network. Other channels of the group in the Netherlands areNet5,Veronica, andSBS9.
SBS stands for Scandinavian Broadcasting System. When theSBS Broadcasting Group started expanding outside ofScandinavia in 1995, one of the first countries where they set up a channel was theNetherlands with SBS6. They applied for a cable license in March of that year in an attempt to beat the launch ofVeronica in September. Launch rumors included the defection ofRTL 5's director of programming Fons van Westerloo to head the new channel from 1 May.[1] SBS6 was the third Dutch commercial TV station afterRTL 4 andRTL 5, which were launched in 1989 and 1993 respectively. The channel was set to counter the two RTL channels by having a strong localist flair (50% of its programming), while 40% of its imports were American.[2] SBS6 launched on 28 August 1995.[3]
When SBS6 was launched, they were in a tough competition with the channelVeronica, which started as a commercial station at the same time. Both SBS6 and Veronica wanted to be on channel 6 of the viewer's television. The channel was initially nicknamed as a "people's channel" or a "camping channel", but over time had become a broader channel, achieving the third place in the Dutch television market, behindNPO 1 andRTL 4, with a market share of 10%.[4]
The SBS Broadcasting Group expanded their Dutch channel lineup withNet5 on 1 March 1999.[5] In 2003, Veronica was added to the lineup.[6]
The GermanProSiebenSat.1 Media took over the parent company, SBS Broadcasting Group, on 27 June 2007.[7] In 2011, all of SBS's activities in the Netherlands (through SBS Broadcasting B.V.), including the three TV stations (SBS6, Net5, and Veronica), the two TV guides (Veronica Magazine and Totaal TV), production, design, and teletext activities were sold to a joint venture betweenSanoma Media Netherlands (67%) andTalpa Holding (33%).[8]
On 10 April 2017, Talpa Holding acquired a 67% stake from Sanoma Media Netherlands.[9]
