Canal+ 1, formerly known simply as Canal+ is a Spanish commercial television channel, launched in September 1990 on terrestrial television frequencies. The channel is operated by Sogecable. The main staples of Canal+ 1 are Spanish football, bullfighting and recent movies.
In 1997 new channels using the Canal+ brand were launched in Spain. Just as on the other markets were Canal+ was present, the channels were named after colours: Canal+ Rojo (Canal+ Red) and Canal+ Azul (Canal+ Blue). A special channel broadcasting content in 16:9 aspect ratio was launched later on, but it was replaced by a time-shift channel in 2001. In 2003, the colour branding was abandoned and several movie and sports channels were launched.
In 2005, the Spanish government agreed on a change in the license terms for the channel. The permission to change the channel from a mostly encrypted channel into a 24 hour free-to-air channel was officially given by the council of ministers on July 29, 2005. From November 2005, its analogue terrestrial frequencies were given to Sogecable's new channel named Cuatro ("Four"). Canal+ 1 is available on the digital satellite television platform Canal+.
A High-definition version of Canal+ (Canal+ HD) is currently on air. In 2010 it is the first Spanish channel to offer 3D through Canal+ 3D.
|