SVT2 the the second Swedish television channel. It was launched in 1969 as TV2. Unlike the UK, where the two BBC channels were supposed to complement each other, TV1 and TV2 were supposed to compete with each other. Therefore they had separate organisations and were equal when it came to funding and broadcasting hours.
In 1987, a re-organisation took place which made TV2 the home of all programmes made in the regions, except for the news that still originated from the capital. To reflect that the programmes came from the regions, the alternative name Sverigekanalen ("The Sweden Channel") was used in the following years. It was often jokingly referred as Bonnakanalen ("The Hillbilly Channel").
In 1996, the two channel organizations merged and TV2 was renamed SVT2. In 2001, the channels were rebranded and repositioned after the BBC model with SVT1 being the popular channel for all, while SVT2 had a more narrow niche profile.
