2016Icelandic National Television 50th Anniversary - First Day Cover

The National Television Network, the only state-run television station in Iceland, began broadcasting on September 30, 1966. The network is a division of the National Broadcasting Service, RÚV for short, which also operates three radio stations. At first the television broadcasted only twice a week but soon broadcasts were sent out every day except Thursdays. On 1 October 1987, TV started broadcasting seven days a week. The focus on high-quality news service improved greatly when RÚV began receiving satellite TV news. This happened for the first time in September 1981. In many ways Iceland’s TV history reflects Iceland’s national history during the last 50 years. When plans were made for Icelandic television in the mid-sixties, television broadcasts were received from the US military base in Keflavík. In March 1964 sixty well-known Icelanders demanded publicly that these broadcasts be limited to the Base. The same year, an official decision was taken to establish Icelandic TV Broadcasting Service. Ever since, Icelandic national TV has favoured domestic programming.