NPO 2



NPO 2 (formerly Nederland 2 until 2014) is a Dutch television channel, sister channel of NPO 1 and NPO 3. It was established on 1 October 1964 at 20:00, initially with a 2.5 hours schedule until 22:30.

NPO 2 tends to broadcast arts, culture, politics, news, current affairs and religious programmes. NPO 2 simulcasts NPO 1 news with sign language.

History
In September 1967, colour broadcasts were introduced on NPO 2.

Until the launch of NPO 3 in 1988, NPO 2 was the mainstay of the broadcasters AVRO, TROS, VOO/Veronica and VPRO, earning it the nickname ATV. In 1995 VOO/Veronica split from the Netherlands Public Broadcasting to become a commercial channel.

On 16 September 2007 the NPO channels Nederland 1, Nederland 2 and Nederland 3 switched completely to anamorphic widescreen, before that time some of the programming was already broadcast in widescreen.

On 4 July 2009, all three channels began simulcasting in 1080i high-definition. Before the launch of the permanent HD service, a test version of the Nederland 1 HD channel was made available from 2 June 2008 until 24 August 2008 in order to broadcast Euro 2008, the 2008 Tour de France, and the 2008 Summer Olympics in HD.

On 12 March 2013, the NPO announced that Nederland 1, 2 and 3 will be renamed as NPO 1, 2 and 3. The reason for this change is to make the channels and its programmes more recognizable. The rebranding completed on 19 August 2014.