FilmNet was the name used for several premium television channels in Europe during the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s. It was launched on 9 March 1985, broadcasting with a focus on
Scandinavia
Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion#Europe, subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, ...
, the
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
and the northern part of Belgium (Flanders). Filmnet channels were later launched in
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
and
Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...
.
History
Filmnet was founded by the Swedish company Esselte Video and Dutch film producer
Rob Houwer
Robert Piet Houwer (born 13 December 1937) is a Dutch film producer. He studied at the University of Television and Film Munich, Germany. In 1964 he directed the short film Anmeldung (Declaration) which was awarded a Silver Bear at the Berlin Fil ...
. They formed a partnership with ATN, a joint venture of the Dutch magazine publisher
VNU and the European film distribution company
United International Pictures
United International Pictures (UIP) is a joint venture of Paramount Pictures and Universal Pictures that distributes their films outside the United States and Canada. UIP also had international distribution rights to certain Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer an ...
and the channel was launched across Scandinavia and the
Benelux
The Benelux Union ( nl, Benelux Unie; french: Union Benelux; lb, Benelux-Unioun), also known as simply Benelux, is a politico-economic union and formal international intergovernmental cooperation of three neighboring states in western Europe: B ...
countries on 29 March 1985. Filmnet transmitted from the
ECS-1 satellite, the same one used by cable operators. Filmnet failed to make a profit and was sold to
NetHold
NetHold is a Pay television, Pay TV company based in the Netherlands. As of 1997, the company merged with Canal+, CANAL+ and is directed by Johann Rupert, chairman of Richemont.
Foundation
In 1985, Koos Bekker led the founding committee behind M ...
, a joint venture of the South African
MultiChoice
MultiChoice is a South African company that operates DStv, a major satellite television service in Sub-Saharan Africa and GOtv, a minor service operating in over 9 countries of this area and Showmax service. MultiChoice was formed out of the sub ...
company and
Richemont
Compagnie Financière Richemont S.A., commonly known as Richemont, is a Switzerland-based luxury goods holding company founded in 1988 by South African businessman Johann Rupert. Through its various subsidiaries, Richemont produces and sells je ...
, in 1996. The channels were sold to the French
Groupe Canal+
Groupe Canal+ is a French mass media company. It is owned and controlled by Vivendi and has a film library in excess of 5,000 films. Vivendi has sold some parts of Canal+ to private investors which are still using the name of Canal+. It is headqu ...
on 1 August 1997.
The deal didn't include the Greek channels, who continued using the FilmNet name until 2008. Although the brand no longer exists, most of its subsidiaries in the different countries live on in some way:
*Scandinavia: The channel had 3 timeslots: ''Morning Club'' for morning programs, ''Royal Club'' for noon and afternoon programs and ''Night Club'' for night and after-midnight programs. As it was increasing other content except for films, like sports, entertainment, music and others, the channel was renamed ''FilmNet Plus''. To create a TV channel which would fit to film lovers, a second FilmNet channel called ''The Complete Movie Channel: FilmNet'' was launched on most cable networks, and it featured only movies. Later, the channels were renamed ''FilmNet 1'' and ''FilmNet 2''. The channels were renamed
Canal+
Canal+ (Canal Plus, , meaning 'Channel Plus'; sometimes abbreviated C+ or Canal) is a French premium television channel launched in 1984. It is 100% owned by the Groupe Canal+, which in turn is owned by Vivendi. The channel broadcasts several ki ...
and
Canal+ Gul on September 1, 1997. Canal+ sold the company to
Nordic Capital
Nordic Capital private equity funds focus on investments primarily in Northern Europe. Nordic Capital invests in selective industries with a particular focus on Healthcare, Tech & Payments and Financial Services. In addition selective investments ...
and Baker Capital in 2003 and the company was renamed
C More Entertainment
C More Entertainment AB is a pay television company that previously operated as Canal+. It targets Nordic countries and has a separate channel in Sweden (C More Film).
The main competitors of C More Entertainment are Viasat Film and Viasat Sp ...
(although still using the Canal+ name in marketing until 2012). They went on to sell to the
SBS Broadcasting Group
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 ...
in 2005, who in turn was merged with
ProSiebenSat.1 Media
ProSiebenSat.1 Media SE (officially abbreviated as P7S1, formerly ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG) is a German mass media & digital company. It operates in three segments: Entertainment, Dating and Commerce & Ventures. The company is listed on the Fran ...
in 2007. In 2008, a deal was entered to sell the company to the Swedish
TV4 Group
TV4 AB (formerly Nordisk Television AB; previously traded as ) is a Swedish media company owned by Telia Company through TV4 Media (formerly known as Bonnier Broadcasting). The company owns the largest commercial television channel in Sweden, T ...
. In October 2012, C More launched a subscription online streaming service under the Filmnet name, which was moved to main C More websites on 30 June 2015.
*Netherlands: Filmnet was rebranded as Canal+ in 1997. Canal+ sold the channels in 2005 to
Liberty Global
Liberty Global plc is a British-Dutch-American multinational telecommunications company with headquarters in London, Amsterdam and Denver. Its respective legal names are Liberty Global Plc, Liberty Global B.V. and Liberty Global, Inc., with ...
and renamed to
Sport1 Sport1 may refer to the following TV channels:
* Sport1 (Eastern Europe)
* Sport1 (Germany)
* Sport1 (Lithuania)
* Sport1 (Netherlands) Sport1 may refer to the following TV channels:
* Sport1 (Eastern Europe)
* Sport1 (Germany)
* Sport1 (Lithuani ...
and
Film1
''Film1'' is a Dutch premium television and video on demand service that replaced Canal+ and is owned by SPI International (previously owned by Liberty Global and Sony Pictures Television).
Background
The service launched with three channels a ...
in February 2006. Sport1 changed its name to
Ziggo Sport Totaal
Ziggo Sport Totaal is a Dutch premium television service operated by Ziggo and owned by VodafoneZiggo, a joint venture between Liberty Global and Vodafone. Ziggo Sport Totaal launched as Sport1 with its sister service Film1 on 1 February 2006 ...
in November 2015. Film1 was sold to
Sony Pictures Television
Sony Pictures Television Inc. (abbreviated as SPT) is an American television production and distribution studio. Based at the Sony Pictures Studios complex in Culver City, it is a division of Sony Entertainment's unit Sony Pictures Entertainm ...
in 2015.
[SONY PICTURES TELEVISION CLOSES FILM1 DEAL](_blank)
sonypicturestelevision.com, Retrieved on July 26, 2015
*Belgium: The Belgian subsidiary was one of the most successful: as from mid 1988 it was profitable; early 1995 it had 186,000 subscribers. The channels were bought by and renamed Canal+ in 1997. In 2004, they were sold to
Telenet
Telenet was an American commercial packet-switched network which went into service in 1975. It was the first FCC-licensed public data network in the United States. Various commercial and government interests paid monthly fees for dedicated lines ...
and are now known as
Play More
''Play More'' is a Belgian premium television service owned by Telenet, the Belgian content division of Liberty Global. Prime launched together with its sister service Prime Sport (later Sporting Telenet and now Play Sports) on September 3, 2005 ...
.
*Poland: Filmnet was launched in 1995 and merged into the existing Canal+ channel in February 1997. It continues to exist to this day, under the name
Canal+ Premium
Canal+ Premium (formerly Canal+) is Poland's variation of the French television network Canal+. It is similar in many ways, including continuity and presentation.
Canal+ Poland currently consists of 12 high-definition channels: Canal+ Premium, C ...
.
*Greece: The ''FilmNet'' brand came in Greece in 1994, replacing ITA 8. The second channel was called ''FilmSat'',
but during 2002 it was renamed as ''FilmNet 2'' and there was, also, a third one, called ''FilmNet 3''. Multichoice finally sold their Greek pay-TV business to
Forthnet
Nova Telecommunications S.M.S.A. is a telecommunications company in Greece which provides broadband, television and fixed telephony. It also offers satellite services in Cyprus. It is traded on the Athens Exchange until its delisting in 2021.
In ...
in April 2008. The Filmnet brand disappeared on June 1, 2008, when the Greek channels were renamed
Nova Cinema.
Programming
Filmnet was mainly broadcasting films and series. It was, also, broadcasting gossip news from
E!. In the 90's Filmnet started broadcasting football, and other sport events in countries such as Belgium and the Netherlands.
K-T.V.
''K-T.V.'' was a programming block on ''Filmnet'', featuring various cartoons and original shows with kids as the presentations.
See also
*
K-T.V.
K-T.V. (also known as ''Kids TV'') was a children's network broadcast in Scandinavia, the Netherlands, Belgium, Greece, Cyprus and South Africa as a programming block on M-Net and later on FilmNet. It was owned by Multichoice. In Greece, it used ...
*
SuperSport
References
{{Television in the Netherlands
Multimedia
Television channels and stations established in 1985
Television channels and stations disestablished in 1997
Television channels and stations disestablished in 2008
Defunct Greek television channels
Greek-language television stations
1985 establishments in Europe
Defunct television channels in the Netherlands