December 31/Sveriges Television

Sveriges Television AB (SVT), Sweden's Television, is the [|Swedish] national [broadcasting|public television broadcaster], funded by a public service tax on personal income set by the [|Riksdag], Prior to 2019, SVT was funded by a [licence|television licence] fee payable by all owners of [set|television sets]. The Swedish public broadcasting system is largely modeled after the system used in the [Kingdom|United Kingdom], and Sveriges Television shares many traits with its British counterpart, the [|BBC].

SVT is a [limited company|public limited company] that can be described as a [non-government organisation|quasi-autonomous non-government organisation]. Together with the other two public broadcasters, [Radio|Sveriges Radio] and [Utbildningsradio|Sveriges Utbildningsradio], it is owned by an independent foundation, Förvaltningsstiftelsen för Sveriges Radio AB, Sveriges Television AB och Sveriges Utbildningsradio AB, The foundation's board consists of 13 politicians, representing the political parties in the [|Riksdag] and appointed by the [of Sweden|Government]. The foundation in turn appoints the members of the SVT board. SVTs regulatory framework is governed by Swedish law. Originally, SVT and [Radio|Sveriges Radio] were a joint company, but since 1979 they and [Utbildningsradio|Sveriges Utbildningsradio] are sister companies sharing some joint services.

SVT maintained a monopoly in domestic terrestrial broadcasting from the start in 1956 until the privately held [(Sweden)|TV4] started broadcasting terrestrially in 1992. It is barred from accepting advertisements except in the case of sponsors for sporting events. Until the launch of the [language|Swedish language] [television|satellite television] channel [(Sweden)|TV3] in 1987, Sveriges Television provided the only Swedish television available to the public. SVT is still the biggest TV network in Sweden, with an audience share of 36.4 percent.

Channels

 * SVT1 – The main channel with broad and regional content. The 10 most seen Swedish TV shows in 2006 were shown on this channel. SVT1 HD simulcasts in high definition.
 * SVT2 – A channel with slightly narrower programming with an emphasis on culture, current affairs and documentaries. SVT2 HDsimulcasts in high definition.
 * Barnkanalen (The Children's Channel) – Programs for children and (pre-)teens.
 * Kunskapskanalen (The Knowledge Channel) – Broadcasting debates, seminars and documentaries in cooperation with UR.