SBS Broadcasting Group (SBS), formerly Scandinavian Broadcasting Systems, was a European multinational media group, operating commercial television, premium pay channels, radio stations and related print businesses in Northern, Western and Central and Eastern Europe. It became the second-largest broadcaster in Europe.

History

SBS was founded by

Harry E. Sloan Harry Evans Sloan (born March 8, 1950) is an American business executive, a former chairman of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) and SBS Broadcasting, and a former entertainment lawyer. In partnership with fellow former motion picture company chairman ...

in 1989, who bought a stake in the Danish station Kanal 2 (a local station in Copenhagen, now

Kanal 4 Kanal 4 (''Channel 4'') is a Danish subscription television channel operated by Warner Bros. Discovery EMEA, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery It was launched in 2006 as the successor of the former TvDanmark. The station is broadcast to D ...

) and Norwegian

TVNorge TVNorge (literally "TVNorway"; originally abbreviated TVN, now just abbreviated N in the logos) is a Norwegian television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery EMEA. History TVNorge went on the air on 5 December 1988 and was the first adv ...

. In 1991, Sloan bought the Swedish Nordic Channel, which was soon renamed Kanal 5 and became the third-largest commercial broadcaster in the country. The company was originally known as "TV1", but was renamed "Scandinavian Broadcasting Systems" in 1991. After expanding into Benelux and Eastern Europe, the name was changed again, this time to SBS. By July 1994, the time of the CC/ABC-Disney merger,

Capital Cities/ABC Capital Cities/ABC Inc. was an American media company. It was founded in 1985 when Capital Cities Communications purchased the much larger American Broadcasting Companies, Inc. It was eventually acquired by The Walt Disney Company and re-branded i ...

owned 23% of SBS. In March 2005, SBS acquired

C More Entertainment C More Entertainment AB was a pay television company that previously operated as Canal+. It targeted Nordic countries and had a separate channel in Sweden (C More Film). The main competitors of C More Entertainment were Viasat Film and Vias ...

, a Nordic

pay tv Pay television, also known as subscription television, premium television or, when referring to an individual service, a premium channel, refers to subscription-based television services, usually provided by multichannel television providers, b ...

provider operating under the

Canal+ Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface flo ...

brand. In that year, SBS was bought by the equity firms

Permira Permira Holdings Limited is a British global investment firm specialised in buyouts, growth funds, equity funds, and credit funds. Founded in 1985 as part of Schroders, it became independent in 1996. Operating as Permira since 2001, the company ...

and

Kohlberg Kravis Roberts KKR & Co. Inc., also known as Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., is an American global private-equity and investment company. , the firm had completed private-equity investments in portfolio companies with approximately $710 billion of total ...

(KKR).

Telegraaf Media Groep Mediahuis (; ) is a European multinational newspaper and magazine publishing, distribution, printing, television, radio and online media company founded in 2014 with assets in Belgium, the Netherlands, Ireland, Luxembourg and Germany. Mediahuis ...

of the Netherlands was also a shareholder in SBS, with a 20% equity interest. Permira and KKR also bought the German broadcaster

ProSiebenSat.1 Media ProSiebenSat.1 Media SE (officially abbreviated as P7S1, formerly ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG) is a German mass media and digital company based in Unterföhring near Munich. It operates in three segments: Entertainment, Dating and Commerce & Venture ...

in early 2007, and on 27 June 2007 it was announced that ProSiebenSat.1 Media acquired the

SBS Broadcasting SBS Broadcasting Group (SBS), formerly Scandinavian Broadcasting Systems, was a European multinational media group, operating commercial television, premium pay channels, radio stations and related print businesses in Northern, Western and Cen ...

group for 3.3 billion euros from the joint owners. ProSiebenSat.1 Media became the second-largest broadcaster of Europe with 48 TV stations. Starting in 2011, ProSiebenSat.1 Media started to sell its non-German properties. The Dutch operations have been bought by

Sanoma Sanoma Corporation (, , formerly SanomaWSOY) is Finland's largest media group and a European education publisher. The company has media business in Finland and an education business in twelve European countries, including Belgium, Netherlands, ...

and

Talpa Media Holding Talpa Network is a Dutch media conglomerate created by John de Mol Jr. in 2017. History Talpa Network was created in 2017 by John de Mol when he merged all his various media assets, De Mol wanted to create a Dutch media conglomerate that cou ...

on 20 April 2011. In the end of 2011 ProSiebenSat.1 Group has sold its Bulgarian radio stations as well as the music channel the Voice TV to A.E. Best Success Services Bulgaria EOOD. The transaction was closed on 10 November 2011. On 14 December 2012,

Discovery Communications Discovery, Inc. was an American multinational mass media factual television conglomerate based in New York City. Established in 1982, the company operated a group of factual and lifestyle television brands, such as the namesake Discovery Cha ...

bought the Nordic portion of SBS for $1.7 billion. The radio stations were later sold to

Bauer Media Group Heinrich Bauer Publishing (), trade name, trading as Bauer Media Group, is a German multimedia conglomerate headquartered in Hamburg. It operates worldwide and owns more than 600 magazines, over 400 digital products and 50 radio and TV stations, ...

. The Romanian TV and radio operations were bought by Romanian businessman Cristian Burci and Antenna Group in 2013.

Former operations

This section lists former channels and publications until the company's acquisition in 2007.

Television

Belgium *

VT4 The VT-4 (), also known as the MBT-3000, is a Chinese modernized main battle tank built by Norinco for overseas export. Development During the development of Type 90-II/Al-Khalid (also known as MBT-2000) in the 1980s, the gearbox and engin ...

(now Play4) *

VIJFtv Play5 is a Belgian-Flemish commercial television channel owned by Play Media. It is a sister channel to Play4 and is owned by Play Media, owned by the Telenet Group. History VT5 As early as November 1998, SBS Broadcasting had planned the cr ...

(now Play5) Bulgaria *

The Voice (Bulgaria) The Voice TV Bulgaria (usually known as simply ''The Voice'') is a Bulgarian music channel. The Voice is a modern music media with its original format offering its audience a rich selection of contemporary hit music. The selection of music, shows, ...

Denmark *

* Kanal 5 *

SBS NET 6'eren is a Danish subscription television channel operated by Warner Bros. Discovery EMEA. It replaced SBS Net on 1 January 2009. The channel's target audience is males, branding itself with the slogan "Denmark's got a new TV Channel - and it ...

(now 6'eren) *

The Voice TV Denmark The Voice TV was the name of a Danish television station that broadcast music videos 24 hours a day. 7'eren was launched on January 1, 2012, as a programming block on The Voice TV, and a year later, on January 1, 2013, the channel renamed The Vo ...

(later 7'eren, now defunct) Finland *

Kutonen Kutonen or VI divisioona is the eighth level in the Finnish football league system and comprises 265 teams. The VI divisioona was introduced in 1973 and in the mid-1990s became known as the Kutonen (''Number Six'' in English and ''Sexan'' in Sw ...

* TV5 Italy *

Retemia Retemia (My Network) is an Italian commercial television network broadcasting from the Tuscan city of Lucca. Founded by notable businessman Giorgio Mendella in 1988, In its current incarnation, the channel is owned by Editrice 24, a company set up ...

(defunct, joint ownership with Internova, Profit, and Videopiù, 1997–1999) Hungary * TV2 Macedonia *

Sitel Foundever Group (previously known as Sitel Group) is a privately owned customer experience technology company headquartered in Luxembourg City. Foundever provides outsourced sales, technical support, customer service, and other business pro ...

*Sitel 2 *

Sitel 3 Sitel 3 is a satellite television channel in Republic of North Macedonia, North Macedonia. Lineup Jadi Burek FIBA EuroBasket FIBA Basketball World Cup External links Skopje References

{{ProSiebenSat.1 Media Defunct television channel ...

* Kanal 5 *

Kanal 5 plus Kanal 5 plus is a privately owned satellite television channel in North Macedonia North Macedonia, officially the Republic of North Macedonia, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe. It shares land borders with Greece to the south, ...

Netherlands *

SBS6 SBS6 is a Dutch free-to-cable commercial TV channel and is a part of Talpa TV, formerly known as SBS Broadcasting B.V. and now owned by Talpa Network. Other channels of the group in the Netherlands are Net5, Veronica, and SBS9. History SB ...

Net5 Net5 is a Dutch free-to-air, free-to-cable commercial television channel, TV channel and is part of Talpa TV, formerly a part of SBS Broadcasting B.V. and now owned by Talpa Network. Other channels of the group in the Netherlands are SBS6, Ver ...

* Veronica *

SBS9 SBS9 is a Dutch commercial television channel owned by Talpa Network through Talpa TV. The channel was launched on 1 January 2015 at 12:00 CET with a movie marathon. The channel can be received via all television providers in the Netherlands. O ...

*Kijk.nl (web only) Norway *

The Voice TV Norway The Voice TV was a Norwegian-language music television channel operated by ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG. It launched in 2004, alongside its sister channels in Sweden, Finland and Denmark. In 2005, the channel expanded its reach after becoming part of t ...

(web only) * FEM *

MAX Max or MAX may refer to: Animals * Max (American dog) (1983–2013), at one time purported to be the world's oldest living dog * Max (British dog), the first pet dog to win the PDSA Order of Merit (animal equivalent of the OBE) * Max (gorilla) ...

* VOX Romania *

Prima TV Prima TV () is a Romanian commercial TV channel, famous mainly for the ''Cronica Cârcotaşilor'' show and various reality shows aired on this channel. Overview Prima TV was launched as one of the first commercial television stations in Romania ...

(also broadcast by cable in Moldova) *

Kiss TV Kiss TV was a music video television channel owned by Channel Four Television based on the format of the Bauer Media Audio UK-owned national radio station Kiss. The channel's programming predominantly consisted of classic and mainstream hi ...

(known as ''TV K Lumea'' before November 2006, now owned by

Antenna Group Antenna Group or ANT1 Group, is a media company in Greece and currently the largest Greek media company. It was established on 2 August 1989 by Minos Kyriakou. Today, his son, Theodore Kyriakou, heads up a media empire whose operations include ...

) Portugal *

TVI TVI may refer to: *RTL-TVI, a French-language television station in Belgium *TVi (channel), a Ukrainian TV-channel *TVi, former name of TV Okey, a Malaysian TV-network * Tamil Vision International, a Tamil language television channel in Toronto, C ...

(1996–1999) Sweden * Kanal 5 *

Kanal 9 Kanal 9 (''Channel 9'') is a Swedish free-to-air television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. It targets the 25-59 age group, which is a slightly older age group than the sister channel Kanal 5. The channel launched on 25 February 2007. ...

* Kanal 11 *

The Voice TV Sweden The Voice TV Sweden was a Swedish language music television channel owned by ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG broadcasting from the United Kingdom. It was launched in December 2004. Initially, it was only available on the Canal Digital satellite platfor ...

(music, defunct) *

ONE Television ONE Television ''(On Europe Television)'' was a Swedish television channel which broadcast television shows such as The Bill, Murder Investigation Team and Later with Jools Holland. It was created in autumn 2005 when new television channels wer ...

(defunct) Switzerland *

TV3 Channel 3 or TV 3 may refer to: Television *Canal 3 (Burkina Faso), a commercial television channel in Burkina Faso * Canal 3 Niger, a commercial television channel in Niger * Canal 3 (Guatemala), a commercial television channel in Guatemala * Can ...

(defunct, joint ownership with

Tamedia TX Group AG (formerly Tamedia AG) is a media company headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland. Through a portfolio of daily and weekly newspapers, magazines and digital platforms, as well as own printing facilities, it is the largest media group in ...

, 1999–2001)

Radio stations

Denmark * The Voice *POP FM *NOVA FM Greece *Lampsi 92.3 FM (now owned by Attica Editions) Norway * Radio 1 * The Voice *

Radio Norge :''If you are looking for the military radio station with the same name, see Radio Norge (1978–1991).'' Radio Norge (formerly ''Kanal 4'' and ''Kanal 24'') is a Norwegian radio station with headquarters in Bergen. It is subsidiary of Bauer ...

(previously known as Kanal 24) Romania * Kiss FM (previously known as Radio Contact, available in Moldova with local insertions) *Magic FM *One FM *Rock FM Sweden *

Mix Megapol Mix Megapol is a private Sweden, Swedish radio network controlled by Bauer Media Group. It launched in 1993 under the name Skärgårdsradion (Archipelago Radio). Later that year the name was changed to Radio Megapol when the broadcasting permissio ...

Rockklassiker 106.7 FM Rockklassiker is a Swedish rock radio station. Rockklassiker (formerly Classic Hits) started out as a local radio station in Stockholm in 1994, and is today the second largest rock station in Sweden in terms of audience share. Its close ...

* The Voice *Radio 107.5 * Vinyl 107

Print

* Veronica (TV/Radio guide)

References

{{Reflist