The Norwegian ministry of culture has ordered executives from TV2 and Canal Digital to hold further talks to restore carriage of one of Norway’s most recognizable brands.
Thematic channels from the leading commercial broadcaster; TV 2 Nyhetskanalen, TV 2 Filmkanalen and TV 2 Bliss were dropped at midnight on Friday, denying access to some 500,000 viewers.
Carriage on Canal Digital’s DTH platform remains unaffected.
“Despite intense negotiations, we were unable to reach an agreement before the deadline was up. This clears these niche channels for a shorter or longer period. TV 2 and TV 2 HD will still be submitted to our 500,000 customers,” said Haakon Li Dragland, product and strategy director, Canal Digital Kabel TV.
Dragland said that the cablenet had tried to call on parent Telenor Group’s wider relationship with TV2, but to no avail.
The dispute began at Christmas 2011 when the cable disputes tribuneral ordered that Canal Digital and fellow cablenet Get agreed that TV 2 should be paid at a higher rate for the carriage of its channels. Like many broadcasters, TV 2 has used its popular main channel to encourage the uptake of its newer services.
Separately, an investigation by Det norske Veritas has ruled that Canal Digital’s interruption of the TV 2 News Channel with a programme caption was a technical error and not deliberate.
