ORF 2

ORF 2
Launched	September 11, 1961 (1961-09-11)
Owned by	ORF
Picture format	576i (SDTV) 720p (HDTV)
Audience share	21.2% (2016 (2016), ORF)
Country	Austria, Italy (South Tyrol)
Formerly called	Versuchsprogramm (1961-1967) FS2 (1967-1992) ORF 2 (1992-present)
Sister channel(s)	ORF eins ORF III ORF Sport +
Website	tv.orf.at/program/orf2
Availability
Terrestrial
DVB-T (Austria)	Channel 2 (DVB-T MUX A, free-to-air)
DVB-T2 (Austria)	Channel 2 (DVB-T MUX D, Irdeto)
Satellite
DVB-S ASTRA 1N (Europe)	12.692 GHz H / 22000 (BetaCrypt, Cryptoworks, Irdeto 2, Nagravision 3 & VideoGuard)
DVB-S2 ASTRA 1L (Europe)	11.303 GHz H / 22000 (BetaCrypt, Cryptoworks, Irdeto 2, Nagravision 3 & VideoGuard)
Cable
UPC	Channel 102
Cablecom	Channel 008
IPTV
A1 TV (Austria)	Channel 2 (SD) / Channel 302 (HD)

ORF 2 is an Austrian television channel owned by ORF. It was launched on 11 September 1961 as a technical test programme. Today it is one of the four public TV channels in Austria.

ORF 2 is available via DVB-T in Germany near the Austrian border and in parts of Munich. It is funded by a mixture of advertising breaks and a television licence fee; as such, unlike its German equivalents (which are generally available free-to-air), ORF 2 and its sister stations are encrypted over satellite.

History

ORF 2 started broadcasting as a "Technical Test Program" (Technisches Versuchsprogramm) on September 11, 1961. Since 1 September 1970 it broadcasts daily, whereas it previously only broadcast for five days a week. On May 2, 1988, regional news programmes known as Bundesland heute (The States Today) were introduced for each Austrian state. Until October 26, 1992, ORF 2 was known as FS2 (Fernsehen 2 - Television 2).

On January 9, 2012, a complete design change took place, similar to that of ORF eins a year prior. In line with the clear design of ORF eins, a vertical navigation bar was introduced as a central on-air element to join together programme credits, idents, promotions and commercial breaks. The red and white design is designed to underline the strong Austrian identity of the station.^[1]

Programming

In contrast to ORF eins, which focuses on TV series and movies, ORF 2 broadcasts more Austrian-oriented and cultural programs. The most important news broadcast Zeit im Bild is broadcast several times a day, with the flagship bulletin being broadcast at 7:30pm each night. Bundesland heute (news for the federal states) is broadcast directly before this at 7:00pm; nine regional window programs are broadcast - one for each state. In the broadcasting area of Tyrol and in South Tyrol, which is part of Italy, Südtirol heute is broadcast from Monday to Friday at 6:30 pm, which is produced by the ORF Landesstudio Tirol in Innsbruck.

Reception

All nine regional feeds of ORF 2 can be received via satellite: these are all encrypted and can only be watched by viewers who have an ORF viewing card, which is available to anyone who pays the ORF licence fee. An international version of ORF 2, known as ORF 2 Europe, has been broadcast unencrypted over satellite in Europe since July 2004; certain programmes for which ORF does not have the rights to broadcast outside Austria are replaced with a video feed of ORF 2's teletext service, accompanied by the audio of Ö1. Many of ORF 2's programmes, such as some Zeit im Bild bulletins, are also broadcast or repeated on 3sat.

Since October 2006, ORF 2 has been broadcast terrestrially via DVB-T in Austria. Via multiplex A, the regional feed of the viewer's own state can be received, as well as that of a neighboring federal state.

References

External links

• ORF 2 TV Listings