DR1 is the oldest channel in Denmark and the primary channel of DR, the Danish public broadcaster. It was launched in 1951. It was the only channel available in Denmark until 1988 and was therefore known as DR TV. After the launch of TV2, they started using a '1' symbol, but the channel was still called DR TV. In 1996, DR launched a second channel, called DR2 and DR TV was renamed DR1 simultaneously.

Kanal 4 was previously named TV Danmark, it was also named TV Danmark 2 It is operated by the SBS Broadcasting Group.

TV Danmark

TV2 is a state-owned commercial channel. It started broadcasting on October 1st, 1988, quickly out-performing the channel from DR and has been the most popular channel ever since. When the new channel was to be launched, it was decided that it would be separate from DR, but it would still receive some funding from the license fee. It would also receive money from advertising. Initially, only a few advertising blocks were shown. This gradually increased and by the early 1990s advertising was shown between all programmes (it is not allowed to interrupt programmes for advertising). TV2 received license money for the last time in 2004 and has since then been a commercial enterprise with public service obligations owned by the government, much like Channel 4 in the UK. Given that both DR and TV2 have a strong position on the Danish television market, the government-owned corporations dominate the Danish broadcasting market. A sale of TV2 has therefore been one the agenda since 2001, but has been postponed several times.