TV3 (Czech Republic)
Encyclopedia
TV3 was an analog
ue terrestrial, cable and digital
satellite television channel
broadcasting in the Czech Republic
. The station used to broadcast in some regions via analogue terrestrial television
to 30% of the population in the Czech Republic, cable television
and also via the Czechlink platform on the Eurobird 1
satellite. TV3 was also planning to become part of the plans for digital terrestrial to increase its reach to 75% of the Czech Republic. The station closed in December 2001 after its broadcast license
was revoked.
with a 60 minute regional news programme followed by the film Seductive Beauty. Programming on TV3 included regional breaking news
programming with reporters on motorbikes alongside other general entertainment programming and the purchase of the rights to show WWE Friday Night SmackDown in 2001. The station used the tag "television for the new millennium" for its promotion, with its target audience
skewed towards a young male audience. The opening night of TV3 was hit by technical glitches during the launch night news programming.
Soon after broadcasting, TV3 was ordered to take down all billboard advertising
which related to a black boxer on a boxing ring
floor being targerted by two white soldiers holding guns and looking at the boxer, alongside the word "Infozabava" ("Infotainment"). The advertisement was considered racist by the Advertising Board but TV3 defended itself stating the advertisement was not racist.
, Ostrava
and České Budějovice
. However the Czech Radio and Television Broadcasting Council in 2001 blocked their requests to expand the TV3 service across the Czech Republic via analogue terrestrial television.
, a Czech television tycoon and owner of TV Nova, held discussions with the three main commercial channels in the Czech Republic, TV Nova, TV Prima
and TV3 about the suggestion of a merger. However, such a deal would have been considered illegal by the Czech Government.
In October, TV3 announced that 60% of its staff would be made redundant
by January 1 as the channel was only attracting 1% of the Czech audience and losing money as a result. Staff to be made redundant received their notices on December 1. A request to expand the TV3 service across the whole of the Czech Republic by using 47 UHF frequencies were all refused by the council.
In November, EMV moved equipment from the Hradec Králové
studios to TV3's Prague
studios after Kidernay told EMV to suspend broadcasting or face immediate action, alongside a request for a thirty day break in broadcasting. EMV announced that it still had a right to broadcast and that they would still be broadcasting via cable and satellite, though terrestrial broadcasts went off the air on November 7, 2001. Kindernay lodged a complaint with the council stating that EMV were operating TV3 illegally.
TV3 went off the air for four days on all platforms on December 2, 2001 under guidance from the Czech Radio and Television Broadcasting Council whilst they decided whether TV3's broadcasts were legal. Text was displayed on screen during the time off air stating that the closedown was due to a decision made on November 20, 2001 by the council and that the station would definitely close by December 6. The council allowed Kindernay to resume broadcasting as the legal licence holder for TV3 under the control of RTV Galaxie using only material from TV3 on December 6. The station did resume broadcasting as TV3 Hradec Králové and TV3 Prague.
In January 2002, TV3 was given a temporary licence by the council for 60 days. At the same time approval was given for defunct TV3 to be renamed to Galaxie Praha and Galaxie Hradec Králové. The two Galaxie stations remained broadcasting and was sold a year later to GES Holding, the owner of TV Prima
who changed the name of the two stations to TV Praha and TV Hradec Králové.
TV3 remained broadcasting on the Eurobird satellite until August 2002, when the station was replaced with a channel using the identification of Stanice O (Óčko
).
In 2005, the stations investor, EMV issued an arbitration
to seek €
33.4 million in damages from the Czech Radio and Television Broadcasting Council, because of the changes made back in 2001 to TV3's licence. The arbitration case, being held in London
eventually ruled in July 2009 in favour of the Czech Republic in a ruling that cost EMV €77 million.
Analog transmission
Analog transmission is a transmission method of conveying voice, data, image, signal or video information using a continuous signal which varies in amplitude, phase, or some other property in proportion to that of a variable...
ue terrestrial, cable and digital
Digital
A digital system is a data technology that uses discrete values. By contrast, non-digital systems use a continuous range of values to represent information...
satellite television channel
Television channel
A television channel is a physical or virtual channel over which a television station or television network is distributed. For example, in North America, "channel 2" refers to the broadcast or cable band of 54 to 60 MHz, with carrier frequencies of 55.25 MHz for NTSC analog video and...
broadcasting in the Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
. The station used to broadcast in some regions via analogue terrestrial television
Terrestrial television
Terrestrial television is a mode of television broadcasting which does not involve satellite transmission or cables — typically using radio waves through transmitting and receiving antennas or television antenna aerials...
to 30% of the population in the Czech Republic, cable television
Cable television
Cable television is a system of providing television programs to consumers via radio frequency signals transmitted to televisions through coaxial cables or digital light pulses through fixed optical fibers located on the subscriber's property, much like the over-the-air method used in traditional...
and also via the Czechlink platform on the Eurobird 1
Eurobird 1
Eurobird 1 is a Eutelsat operated Eurobird satellite, used primarily for digital television. It is located at 28.5° east in the Clarke Belt, just within the range of most satellite dishes pointed at SES Astra's Astra 2A, 2B and 2D at 28.2° east...
satellite. TV3 was also planning to become part of the plans for digital terrestrial to increase its reach to 75% of the Czech Republic. The station closed in December 2001 after its broadcast license
Broadcast license
A broadcast license or broadcast license is a specific type of spectrum license that grants the licensee the privilege to use a portion of the radio frequency spectrum in a given geographical area for broadcasting purposes. The licenses are generally straddled with additional restrictions that...
was revoked.
Launch
TV3 launched on May 25, 2000 using the regional frequencies of defunct television station Galaxie. The station launched at 1900 CETCentral European Time
Central European Time , used in most parts of the European Union, is a standard time that is 1 hour ahead of Coordinated Universal Time . The time offset from UTC can be written as +01:00...
with a 60 minute regional news programme followed by the film Seductive Beauty. Programming on TV3 included regional breaking news
Breaking news
Breaking news, also known as a special report or news bulletin, is a current event that broadcasters feel warrants the interruption of scheduled programming and/or current news in order to report its details. Many times, breaking news is used after the news network has already reported on this story...
programming with reporters on motorbikes alongside other general entertainment programming and the purchase of the rights to show WWE Friday Night SmackDown in 2001. The station used the tag "television for the new millennium" for its promotion, with its target audience
Target audience
In marketing and advertising, a target audience, is a specific group of people within the target market at which the marketing message is aimed .....
skewed towards a young male audience. The opening night of TV3 was hit by technical glitches during the launch night news programming.
Soon after broadcasting, TV3 was ordered to take down all billboard advertising
Billboard (advertising)
A billboard is a large outdoor advertising structure , typically found in high traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertisements to passing pedestrians and drivers...
which related to a black boxer on a boxing ring
Boxing ring
A boxing ring is the space in which a boxing match occurs. A modern ring, which is set on a raised platform, is square with a post at each corner to which four parallel rows of ropes are attached with a turnbuckle...
floor being targerted by two white soldiers holding guns and looking at the boxer, alongside the word "Infozabava" ("Infotainment"). The advertisement was considered racist by the Advertising Board but TV3 defended itself stating the advertisement was not racist.
Terrestrial broadcast reach
TV3 was initially only available in Prague and Hradec Králové from launch day on analogue terrestrial television. TV3 applied for licenses since the launch of the station to broadcast to more parts of the Czech Republic including initially to Karlovy VaryKarlovy Vary
Karlovy Vary is a spa city situated in western Bohemia, Czech Republic, on the confluence of the rivers Ohře and Teplá, approximately west of Prague . It is named after King of Bohemia and Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV, who founded the city in 1370...
, Ostrava
Ostrava
Ostrava is the third largest city in the Czech Republic and the second largest urban agglomeration after Prague. Located close to the Polish border, it is also the administrative center of the Moravian-Silesian Region and of the Municipality with Extended Competence. Ostrava was candidate for the...
and České Budějovice
Ceské Budejovice
České Budějovice is a city in the Czech Republic. It is the largest city in the South Bohemian Region and is the political and commercial capital of the region and centre of the Roman Catholic Diocese of České Budějovice and of the University of South Bohemia and the Academy of Sciences...
. However the Czech Radio and Television Broadcasting Council in 2001 blocked their requests to expand the TV3 service across the Czech Republic via analogue terrestrial television.
Commercial station merger discussions
In June 2001, Vladimír ŽeleznýVladimír Železný
Vladimír Železný is a media businessman, politician and convicted criminal in the Czech Republic. He was the first CEO of TV NOVA, a popular Czech television station and was a member of the European Parliament between 2004 and 2009...
, a Czech television tycoon and owner of TV Nova, held discussions with the three main commercial channels in the Czech Republic, TV Nova, TV Prima
TV Prima
TV Prima is a Czech private television station. Its channel is broadcast from Prague. Its current owner is FTV Prima, spol. s r. o., general manager Marek Singer....
and TV3 about the suggestion of a merger. However, such a deal would have been considered illegal by the Czech Government.
Transfer of licence
In September 2001, the Czech Radio and Television Broadcasting Council refused a request from European Media Ventures and Martin Kindernay to transfer TV3's licence to a Luxembourg based company, KTV, which EMV wanted to own TV3's licence. The council did allow the move of the licence to RTV Galaxie, completely owned by Kindernay. The decision angered EMV investors who were not consulted on the move of the licence and had lost control of TV3.In October, TV3 announced that 60% of its staff would be made redundant
Layoff
Layoff , also called redundancy in the UK, is the temporary suspension or permanent termination of employment of an employee or a group of employees for business reasons, such as when certain positions are no longer necessary or when a business slow-down occurs...
by January 1 as the channel was only attracting 1% of the Czech audience and losing money as a result. Staff to be made redundant received their notices on December 1. A request to expand the TV3 service across the whole of the Czech Republic by using 47 UHF frequencies were all refused by the council.
In November, EMV moved equipment from the Hradec Králové
Hradec Králové
Hradec Králové is a city of the Czech Republic, in the Hradec Králové Region of Bohemia. The city's economy is based on food-processing technology, photochemical, and electronics manufacture. Traditional industries include musical instrument manufacturing – the best known being PETROF pianos...
studios to TV3's Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
studios after Kidernay told EMV to suspend broadcasting or face immediate action, alongside a request for a thirty day break in broadcasting. EMV announced that it still had a right to broadcast and that they would still be broadcasting via cable and satellite, though terrestrial broadcasts went off the air on November 7, 2001. Kindernay lodged a complaint with the council stating that EMV were operating TV3 illegally.
TV3 went off the air for four days on all platforms on December 2, 2001 under guidance from the Czech Radio and Television Broadcasting Council whilst they decided whether TV3's broadcasts were legal. Text was displayed on screen during the time off air stating that the closedown was due to a decision made on November 20, 2001 by the council and that the station would definitely close by December 6. The council allowed Kindernay to resume broadcasting as the legal licence holder for TV3 under the control of RTV Galaxie using only material from TV3 on December 6. The station did resume broadcasting as TV3 Hradec Králové and TV3 Prague.
Closedown
On December 18, 2001, TV3's licence was revoked. The decision to revoke the licence was made because TV3 had been showing non-TV3 programming.In January 2002, TV3 was given a temporary licence by the council for 60 days. At the same time approval was given for defunct TV3 to be renamed to Galaxie Praha and Galaxie Hradec Králové. The two Galaxie stations remained broadcasting and was sold a year later to GES Holding, the owner of TV Prima
TV Prima
TV Prima is a Czech private television station. Its channel is broadcast from Prague. Its current owner is FTV Prima, spol. s r. o., general manager Marek Singer....
who changed the name of the two stations to TV Praha and TV Hradec Králové.
TV3 remained broadcasting on the Eurobird satellite until August 2002, when the station was replaced with a channel using the identification of Stanice O (Óčko
Ócko
Óčko is the first Czech music television channel, which started broadcasting in 2002.Majority of the audience are teenagers and people from the 12–35 age group. The program consists of music videos of music from all different genres including the latest hits....
).
In 2005, the stations investor, EMV issued an arbitration
Arbitration
Arbitration, a form of alternative dispute resolution , is a legal technique for the resolution of disputes outside the courts, where the parties to a dispute refer it to one or more persons , by whose decision they agree to be bound...
to seek €
Euro
The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...
33.4 million in damages from the Czech Radio and Television Broadcasting Council, because of the changes made back in 2001 to TV3's licence. The arbitration case, being held in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
eventually ruled in July 2009 in favour of the Czech Republic in a ruling that cost EMV €77 million.