Editing Television broadcaster (section)

==Europe, Asia, Africa and South America==
Most television services outside North America are national networks established by a combination of publicly funded broadcasters and commercial broadcasters.{{citation needed|date=October 2009}} Most nations established television networks in a similar way: the first television service in each country was operated by a [[public broadcasting|public broadcaster]], often funded by a television licensing fee, and most of them later established a second or even third station providing a greater variety of content. Commercial television services also became available when private companies applied for television broadcasting licenses. Often, each new network would be identified with their channel number, so that individual stations would often be numbered "One", "Two", "Three" and so forth.

===United Kingdom===
{{See also|Television in the United Kingdom}}
The first television network in the United Kingdom was operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation ([[BBC]]). On 2 November 1936 the BBC opened the world's first regular high-definition television service, from a 405 lines transmitter at Alexandra Palace. The BBC remained dominant until eventually on 22 September 1955, commercial broadcasting was established to create a second television network. Rather than creating a single network with local channels owned and operated by a single company (as is the case with the BBC), each local area had a separate television channel that was independently owned and operated, although most of these channels shared a number of programmes, particularly during peak evening viewing hours. These channels formed the [[ITV (TV network)|ITV network]].

When the advent of [[Ultra high frequency|UHF]] broadcasting allowed a greater number of television channels to broadcast, the BBC launched a second channel, [[BBC Two|BBC 2]] (with the original service being renamed [[BBC One|BBC 1]]). A second national commercial network was launched [[Channel 4]], although [[Wales]] instead introduced a Welsh-language service, [[S4C]]. These were later followed by the launch of a third commercial network, [[Channel 5 (UK)|Channel 5]]. Since the introduction of digital television, the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 each introduced a number of digital-only channels. [[Sky Limited|Sky]] operates a large number of channels, as does [[UKTV]].

===Sweden===
Sweden had only one television network from 1956 until the early-1990s: the public broadcaster [[Sveriges Television]] (SVT). Commercial companies such as [[Modern Times Group]], [[TV4 (Sweden)|TV4]], [[Viasat (Nordic television service)|Viasat]], and [[Discovery Communications Nordic|SBS Discovery]] have established TV networks since the 1980s although they initially aired exclusively on satellite. In 1991, TV4 became Sweden's first commercial television network to air terrestrially. Most television programming in Sweden is centralised except for local news updates that air on [[SVT2]] and TV4.

===Netherlands===
Until 1989, [[Netherlands Public Broadcasting]] was the only television network in the Netherlands, with three stations, [[Nederland 1]], [[Nederland 2]] and [[Nederland 3]]. Rather than having a single production arm, there are a number of public broadcasting organizations that create programming for each of the three stations, each working relatively independently. Commercial broadcasting in the Netherlands is currently operated by two networks, [[RTL Nederland]] and [[SBS Broadcasting]], which together broadcast seven commercial stations.

=== Italy ===
{{See also|Television in Italy}}[[File:EIARtelevisione39.jpg|thumb|[[Ente Italiano per le Audizioni Radiofoniche|EIAR]] studio for experimental television transmissions, in 1939.]]
After some early tests in the 1930s,<ref>{{Cite web |date=2007-08-27 |title=Early Television in Italy |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070827100727/http://s206301103.websitehome.co.uk/database/it.tv.htm |access-date=2025-05-09 |website=s206301103.websitehome.co.uk}}</ref> Italy experimented first regular electronic television transmissions from July 1939 to May 1940, through the state-owned [[Ente Italiano per le Audizioni Radiofoniche|EIAR]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-07-22 |title=L'inizio delle trasmissioni sperimentali dell'Eiar, 1939 - |url=https://www.teche.rai.it/2024/07/trasmissioni-sperimentali-eiar/ |access-date=2025-05-09 |website=Rai Teche |language=it-IT}}</ref> After the war, the state-owned [[RAI]] was established and regular transmissions began on 3 January 1954. At the end of the 1970s, local private television networks began broadcasting, among which the ones from [[Silvio Berlusconi]]'s [[Fininvest]] emerged in the 1980s, creating an holding that controls three major channels ([[Rete 4]], [[Canale 5]] and [[Italia 1]]), opposed still today to the three ones from the RAI itself.

===Russia===
{{See also|Television in Russia}}

====Soviet era====
The first television network in the [[Soviet Union]] launched on 7 July 1938 when Petersburg – Channel 5 of Leningrad Television became a unionwide network.
The second television network in the [[Soviet Union]] launched on 22 March 1951 when Channel One of USSR Central Television became a unionwide network. Until 1989, there were six television networks, all owned by the USSR Gosteleradio. This changed during [[Mikhail Gorbachev]]'s [[Perestroika]] program, when the first independent television network, [[2x2 (TV channel)|2×2]], was launched.

====1990s====
Following the breakup of the Soviet Union, USSR Gosteleradio ceased to exist as well as its six networks. Only Channel One had a smooth transition and survived as a network, becoming [[Channel One (Russia)|Ostankino Channel One]]. The other five networks were operated by Ground Zero. This free airwave space allowed many private television networks like [[NTV (Russia)|NTV]] and [[TV-6 (Russia)|TV-6]] to launch in the mid-1990s.

====2000s====
The 2000s were marked by the increased state intervention in Russian television. On 14 April 2001 NTV experienced management changes following the expulsion of former [[oligarchy|oligarch]] and NTV founder [[Vladimir Gusinsky]]. As a result, most of the prominent reporters featured on NTV left the network. Later on 22 January 2002, the second largest private television network [[TV-6 (Russia)|TV-6]], where the former NTV staff took refuge, was shut down allegedly because of its editorial policy. Five months later on 1 June, [[TVS (Russia)|TVS]] was launched, mostly employing NTV/TV-6 staff, only to cease operations the following year. Since then, the four largest television networks (Channel One, Russia 1, NTV and Russia 2) have been state-owned.

Still, the 2000s saw a rise of several independent television networks such as [[REN (TV channel)|REN]] (its coverage increased vastly allowing it to become a federal network), Petersburg – Channel Five (overall the same), the relaunched [[2x2 (TV channel)|2×2]]. The Russian television market is mainly shared today by five major companies: Channel One, Russia 1, NTV, TNT and CTC.

===Brazil===
{{See also|Television in Brazil}}
The major commercial television network in Brazil is [[TV Globo]], which was founded in 1965. It grew to become the largest and most successful media conglomerate in the country, having a dominating presence in various forms of media including television, radio, print (newspapers and magazines) and the Internet.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-18912764|title=Brazil profile|work=BBC News|date=24 May 2016}}</ref>

Other networks include [[Rede Bandeirantes|Band]], [[Record (television network)|Record]], [[Sistema Brasileiro de Televisão|SBT]], [[RedeTV!]], [[TV Cultura]], and [[TV Brasil]].