Mass media in the Euro Republics

Television in the Euro Republics started in 1956 as a public service which was free of advertising. Currently, the Euro Republics has a collection of free-to-air, free-to-view and subscription services over a variety of distribution media, through which there are over 480 channels[nb 1] for consumers as well as on-demand content. There are six main channel owners who are responsible for most material viewed. There are 27,000 hours of domestic content produced a year at a cost of £2.6 billion.[nb 2] Since 2018, all television broadcasts in the Euro Republics have been in a digital format, following the end of analogue transmissions in Northern Zonerit. Digital content is delivered via terrestrial, satellite and cable, as well as over IP.

Digital television
Digital television and HDTV began in the Euro Republics in 1995. The first channels were ETV Digital, Network 2 and 3D (3Digital). Network 2 was a joint venture between ETV and EuroMedia and was also the first channel in the country to offer HD programming from launch. 5 further channels from Euro Media and KPN, launched in December 1995. The channels live on today as showcase3, Family3, 3Action, 3Challenge, W3 and 3Drama. In 1996, a new broadcaster, Thin Television tried their hand at a new, digital-only channel. Thinetwork launched on January 1, 1996. The network was axed by June.
 * ER Showcase - airing golden classics & new popular shows from the ER, UK, USA, El Kadsre, Australia, New Zealand and Canada.
 * ER Together - from 10am to 10pm, as a family friendly alternative to the other networks. This included cartoons, family films and US telenovelas
 * ER Darkside - from 10pm to 5am, less prominently motors shows (such as Top Gear and Motorweek) and mostly adult content. It also aired action and sci-fi movies and series.
 * ER Challenge - Gameshows around the clock.
 * ER W - a channel for women including daytime soaps, game shows, cookery shows, home renovation series and talk shows.
 * ER Drama - airing soaps, drama and romance.

Television advertising
In the Euro Republics, television advertising can run for as long as a broadcaster wishes. Normally, ad breaks normally last for around 15 minutes every hour, commerical breaks normally occur like this on half-hour programmes.
 * Pre intro sequence
 * Intro
 * 1st Ad Break
 * Part 1
 * 2nd Ad Break
 * Part 2
 * 3rd ad break (optional)
 * Credits
 * Repeat

TV providers
Free-to-air, free-to-view and subscription providers are available, with differences in the number of channels, capabilities such as the programme guide (EPG), video on demand (VOD), high-definition (HD), interactive television via the red button, and coverage across the ER. The ER’s five most watched channels, TV1, TV2, GTV, Channel 4 and Tele5, are available from all providers.

Broadcast television is distributed as radio waves via terrestrial or satellite transmissions, or as electrical or light signals through ground-based cables. In the ER, these use the Digital Video Broadcasting standard. Most TVs sold in the ER come with a DVB-T (terrestrial) tuner for Digital Terrestrial – a rare thing in Europe.[citation needed] Set-top boxes are generally used to receive channels from other providers. Most services have also integrated their broadcast TV services with additional video streams distributed via the Internet, or through their own Internet Protocol network.

Streaming
Streaming services were introduced in 2003.

Free streaming services

 * ETV EuroPlay
 * Viafree
 * Go+

Subscription services

 * Netflix
 * Viaplay