YLE TV1

Broadcast Rights

Competitions available on YLE TV1

World Cup

2026

YLE shows the FIFA World Cup in Finland on free-to-air television through YLE TV1 and YLE TV2, with live streaming available on YLE Areena. YLE’s coverage is free to watch, while MTV holds the other half of the Finnish broadcast package.

▶ More details: How to watch World Cup in Finland

UEFA Nations League

2022-2028

Following a six-year deal with UEFA that will start in 2022, YLE will show live UEFA Nations League matches involving Finland’s national team from 2022 to 2028.

UEFA Euro Qualifying

2022-2028

YLE has regained the rights to the matches of Finland’s national team throughout their UEFA Euro 2024 and UEFA Euro 2028 qualifying runs. The public-service broadcaster’s deal with UEFA was made through the CAA Eleven agency and covers six years, from 2022 to 2028. YLE is expected to show Finland’s UEFA Euro matches in high definition on TV and on its digital service YLE Areena.

Friendly

2022-2028

Public-service broadcaster YLE will air Finland’s friendly matches live on TV and online from 2022 to 2028. The matches will be aired in HD, with auxiliary programming expected to be made available to viewers.

Satellites

What satellites is YLE TV1 available on?

About

YLE TV1 history, coverage, features

YLE TV1 is a Finnish television channel owned and operated by Finnish public broadcaster YLE. It was the first television channel to see the light in Finland, with test transmissions beginning on August 13, 1957. The channel would eventually start its regular broadcasts on January 1, 1958. The channel was previously known as Suomen Televisio from its launch in 1958 to 1965, when it was rebranded to TV-ohjelma 1. That name would last until 1972, when it was relabeled as YLE TV1.

Over the years, YLE TV1 has been known as a general entertainment channel, with news broadcasts, entertainment shows, reality shows, musical broadcasts, documentaries, sports broadcasts, and more being included in its programming. 

Speaking about sports, YLE TV1 has included live broadcasts for disciplines such as football, golf, ice hockey, badminton, basketball, Olympic sports, futsal, handball, and more. Domestic competitions have frequently been available on this platform, but international tournaments have also been streamed on this service. When it comes to football, games for the Finnish National Teams have been the core of YLE TV2’s coverage.

YLE TV1 was launched as a Standard Definition channel, but a High-Definition feed was developed to mirror the content aired by the SD channel. That feed would see the light on January 28, 2014, giving users a chance to choose the feed that suits their needs, as both feeds may still be available in most regions of the country.