RTP2

RTP studied the hypothesis of launching a second channel in 1967, these plans went into fruition in 1968. The service (going under the unofficial name of II Programa) began broadcasting on 25 December 1968 on the UHF band, broadcasting to large urban centres, simply relaying programming from the first network over the course of two hours every night. In 1969, the channel had 1012 hours of operation, living upon repeats from the main service. Regular broadcasts started on 21 November 1970. In 1971, the channel added an extra hour to its daily schedule, now starting at 20:30. As the 1970s progressed, the channel slowly started to add (predominantly European) shows on the schedule that RTP1 did not air. On 16 October 1977, RTP decided to separate RTP-1 and RTP/2, giving each channel their own teams and news operations. Fernando Lopes became the controller of the newly-separate channel, being nicknamed as "Canal Lopes" (the Lopes channel). RTP2 also gained a separate news team for Informação/2, at 22:00, which employed 25 journalists compared to RTP1's 40. Competition between the two channels was touted as "qualitative but not absurd". Under Fernando Lopes, RTP2 gave prominence to programming outside of traditional concepts seen on RTP1, with topics ranging from analysis of societal issues to science and culture. Imported programming in this phase included I, Claudius, Spider-Man and Flash Gordon. That year alone, RTP2 broadcast a total of 1,065 hours In February 1980, it was announced that RTP was going to abolish the autonomous two-channel system, with RTP2 falling under RTP1's control again. Informação/2 was on track for liquidation as an autonomous unit. Informação/2 was replaced by Jornal da Noite in 1982, partly produced in the Porto studios. RTP2 started broadcasting from the Porto facilities on 27 June 1981, initially on weekends, before expanding to other days of the week. In February 1982, RTP2's coverage extended to the Algarve region following reconstruction work of the Fóia transmitter. On 5 May 1986, the channel started relaying the Europa TV experiment, airing the channel's programming between 16:30 and 20:00. RTP had joined the project on 24 June 1985. The launch of Europa TV on RTP2 was delayed several times, in 1986 it was the first time a pan-European television network was relayed live on terrestrial television. As soon as Europa TV closed, some Music Box shows were relayed on the channel. RTP2's old format ended on 12 October 1986, with the airing of the made-for-TV movie , produced by António Albuquerque (alias Dick Haskins). Up until then, the channel's identity had stagnated since the late 1970s, and that the new season would bring forth improvements. The new format started the following day, with the introduction of new programs that would revitalize the channel. Among them was , a phone-in show which allowed the viewer to choose from two different TV shows. It got cancelled in early 1994, apart from a brief (and web-centric) revival in 2011 on RTP Memória. In tandem with that, the channel increased its broadcasting hours, which included an in-depth news service at 9pm, . With the impending legalization of commercial television in Portugal, RTP2 was the center of discussions regarding the potential scenario where the Portuguese Catholic Church would either license part of the channel's schedule in a "prime slot". The scenario was proven unviable and the Church opted for a private television license. On 17 September 1990, RTP 2 was renamed Canal 2, promoted as "a valid and aggressive alternative", then to TV2 on 14 September 1992. The decision to rename the channel as TV2 and reface it completely were in response to the launch of SIC on 6 October, with a controversial campaign featuring a woman pregnant of a television set. As TV2, the channel's slogan was A Outra TV. In 1994, TV2 was forced to focus entirely on minorities, causing major changes to the channel's schedule. High-profile football matches and telenovelas were transferred from TV2 to the more mainstream channel, Canal 1 and the channel's ratings started to vertiginously decrease. On 29 April 1996, the channel's name reverted to RTP2, carrying the same scheduling format as TV2. The channel started to relay Euronews in Portuguese at certain times. Commercial advertising was now prohibited towards the new millennium. In December 2000, RTP started allowing sponsors on the channel again, under the claim that sponsorship agreements did not count as advertising. Rumors began circulating in January 2001 regarding the potential conversion of RTP2 to an all-news channel, as well as having content geared towards education, science and technology. For this end, RTP would build a special studio for this purpose. On 5 December 2003, the channel renamed once again, becoming 2:, pronounced a dois (the two). As a result, the channel was now forced to focus on children's programming, cultural interests and the civil society. In March 2007, it was announced that the name RTP2 would return, effective 19 March. On May 31, 2007, the eve of Children's Day, the channel aired the Danish-Canadian 17-minute film ''So That's How (Então é Assim'') about sexual education, which was accompanied by a debate. The film was repeated the following evening after the evening Zig Zag block, at 8:30pm. Parents would decide or not if their children should watch the film. Beginning in 2015, RTP2 started increasing the number of non-mainstream TV series in its line-up, mainly coming from Europe. The Danish series Borgen kickstarted this trend in early 2015. The channel aired the three seasons all at once, averaging 70-75,000 viewers per episode. Teresa Paixão ended her stint as director of RTP2 on June 30, 2025 after ten years. From July 1, the channel became managed by Nuno Galopim, who is also director of RTP Memória under the cabinet reshuffle. ==Logos and identities==