Kutonen

Kutonen, meaning “Sixth” in Finnish, is a Finnish general-entertainment television channel that emerged from the rebranding of The Voice TV in September 2012. Although the Kutonen name dates from 2012, the service developed through a longer chain of Finnish digital television ventures beginning with the launch of Viisi in March 2004. Its history reflects the evolution of Finland’s commercial digital-TV market from interactive and music-led programming toward broader, low-cost entertainment and sports schedules. The channel’s earliest predecessor was created by Vizor Media Ltd., a Finnish multimedia company that won a 2003 auction for a digital terrestrial television licence. Vizor initially presented the project as Vitonen, later simplified to Viisi, and promoted it as a cross-media service. The concept emphasized viewer participation through mobile phones, online services and potential set-top-box interactivity. Test transmissions began in late 2003, and Viisi formally launched on 12 March 2004. Its first schedule combined interactive programming, music videos, media and music magazines, imported programmes, teleshopping, infomercials and regional chat content. The service also experimented with distinctive advertising and viewer-submitted mobile content. In August 2004, SBS Broadcasting Group acquired Viisi. SBS replaced the original identity with The Voice, a Finnish television extension of its established Scandinavian music brand. The Voice TV launched on 11 November 2004 as a 24-hour music channel, initially concentrating on music videos and advertising before adding presenters and topical magazine programming in 2005. It positioned itself toward younger audiences and sought to connect television with The Voice radio network and online services. The television, radio and web properties formed a coordinated Finnish multimedia presence, while the channel gradually expanded from initial southern and western coverage to national distribution. The next major transition began in 2008, when SBS introduced TV Viisi as a general-entertainment block within the channel’s schedule. The block was designed partly to support promotion of SBS-related pay-television services and used imported entertainment, selected films and sports, including Finnish national football qualifiers. Its opening football broadcast in September 2008 attracted unusually high overnight viewing for a Finnish digital channel. TV Viisi’s hours were subsequently extended, while The Voice continued outside the general-entertainment block. The mixed schedule frustrated many viewers who preferred The Voice’s continuous music format, and the music channel’s audience declined during the first year of the arrangement. On 1 April 2011, TV Viisi moved to its own channel and The Voice returned to a separate 24-hour music service. TV Viisi also carried a music block called The Voice 5 outside its regular hours. In 2012, however, SBS again broadened the television proposition by introducing a prime-time comedy block under The Voice identity. The experiment did not restore the former music-channel positioning. The channel was subsequently renamed Kutonen and redirected toward a broader entertainment profile with an emphasis on male viewers. The Voice continued as a separate music brand outside regular hours on Kutonen and TV Viisi, with its television music output narrowed primarily to pop and rap. Kutonen’s programming model combined imported series, films, factual entertainment, comedy, reality formats and sports. Examples associated with the channel include Seinfeld, The Nanny, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Cops, Leverage, Swamp People, Operation Repo, Dog the Bounty Hunter, Beauty and the Geek, Expedition Impossible and assorted movie and sports strands. Its visual identity and programming relationships were closely connected with the Danish 6'eren channel and with other SBS-operated European media brands. The available reference material does not establish a curre…

Kutonen’s direct history begins with a 2012 rebranding, but its lineage reaches back to the early years of Finland’s digital terrestrial television. In 2003, Vizor Media Ltd. won an auction for a digital channel position after competing against several established Finnish media companies. The proposed service was initially named Vitonen and was presented as a cross-media experiment. Its planned features included online participation, mobile-phone interaction and later set-top-box services using the red button. Test transmissions began in December 2003 at the Otaniemi campus of the then Helsinki University of Technology, with technical participation from Finland’s VTT Technical Research Centre and Icareus. Before launch, Vitonen was shortened to Viisi. The channel began regular transmission on 12 March 2004 on digital terrestrial channel 15. Its launch was heavily promoted through a long countdown and a music-led opening. Early programming included music videos, interactive shows, media and music magazines, imported programmes, teleshopping, infomercials and regional chat formats. Viisi also experimented with new advertising forms, including on-screen banners, advertising integrated into channel graphics and classified mobile messages submitted by viewers. Vizor maintained close links with SBS Broadcasting Group, which supplied personnel, advertising-sales support and cooperation with SBS radio properties. SBS acquired Viisi in August 2004 and replaced it with The Voice TV on 11 November of that year. The new service used the established Scandinavian The Voice brand and was intended to operate as a 24-hour music television channel. Music videos formed the initial core of the schedule. Presenters, topical magazines and youth-oriented content were added in 2005, strengthening the channel’s aspiration to represent youth culture and to connect television programming with audience participation. The Finnish television service was linked to The Voice radio and web brands. In early 2007, SBS rebranded its Finnish Kiss FM radio station as The Voice, creating a coordinated television-radio-online identity. Morning programming was shared between the radio and television services, and the cross-platform arrangement was promoted as a way of increasing use of all three services. The Voice television channel expanded from limited initial coverage in southern and western Finland to national distribution and became one of the country’s more prominent digital channels. A general-entertainment direction was introduced in 2008. SBS created TV Viisi as an evening block within The Voice, using imported programmes, selected Canal+ Film content and sports. The block’s opening broadcast on 10 September 2008 was a FIFA World Cup qualifying match between Finland and Germany. It achieved a strong audience for a Finnish digital channel, and another football qualifier, Finland versus Russia, produced an even higher reported overnight audience in June 2009. The block expanded its daily hours in early 2009, which reduced the amount of time available for music videos and caused dissatisfaction among some established The Voice viewers. The shared-channel arrangement continued until 1 April 2011, when TV Viisi moved to its own channel. The Voice resumed a full-time music schedule, while TV Viisi carried a separate music block known as The Voice 5. In January 2012, The Voice also tested a prime-time comedy block featuring programmes such as Seinfeld and The Nanny. The comedy experiment did not meet the expectations associated with the established music brand. SBS therefore changed the channel’s identity and profile. In September 2012, The Voice TV became Kutonen, a general-entertainment channel aimed at a broader audience and described as having a male-oriented focus. The Voice remained present outside regular hours on Kutonen and TV Viisi through music programming, increasingly concentrated on pop and rap. Kutonen’s schedule combined imported scripted series, comedy, factual and reality programmes, movies and sports. Its programming and visual branding were closely related to the Danish 6'eren channel, while its wider corporate context was connected with SBS’s European portfolio. The supplied reference material does not provide reliable information about subsequent ownership, management, financial results, headquarters or any later rebranding, so these points are not stated as facts here.

• 2012

  Kutonen identity introduced

  [1]Kutonen (TV channel)en.wikipedia.org

  The Voice TV was renamed Kutonen and repositioned as a broader general-entertainment channel.

• 2011

  TV Viisi becomes a separate channel

  [1]Kutonen (TV channel)en.wikipedia.org

  TV Viisi moved to its own channel, while The Voice reverted to a 24-hour music format.

• 2008

  TV Viisi entertainment block launches

  [1]Kutonen (TV channel)en.wikipedia.org

  A general-entertainment and sports block called TV Viisi began within The Voice’s schedule.

• 2007

  The Voice radio and television brands are aligned

  [1]Kutonen (TV channel)en.wikipedia.org

  SBS rebranded Kiss FM as The Voice, strengthening the relationship between the Finnish television, radio and online services.

• 2005

  The Voice adds presenters and topical programming

  [1]Kutonen (TV channel)en.wikipedia.org

  The music channel expanded beyond videos by introducing hosts and magazine-style content aimed at younger viewers.

• 2004

  Viisi launches

  [1]Kutonen (TV channel)en.wikipedia.org

  The service launched on Finnish digital terrestrial television on 12 March under the name Viisi.

• 2004

  The Voice TV replaces Viisi

  [1]Kutonen (TV channel)en.wikipedia.org

  Following SBS Broadcasting’s acquisition of Viisi, the channel relaunched as The Voice TV on 11 November as a music-oriented service.

• 2003

  Vizor Media wins a digital television licence

  [1]Kutonen (TV channel)en.wikipedia.org

  Vizor Media won an auction for a digital terrestrial television channel position and announced plans for an interactive cross-media service.

A Finnish commercial general-entertainment channel with a broad schedule of imported series, films, reality and factual formats, comedy and selected sports, positioned after 2012 toward a wider and more male-skewing audience than its music-video predecessor.

• television channel · 2012

  Kutonen television channel

  The principal Kutonen service is a Finnish general-entertainment television channel. Its schedule is built from imported scripted series, comedy, factual and reality formats, films, sports and selected music programming. The channel followed The Voice TV but moved away from a pure music-video proposition after its 2012 rebrand. Associated programming cited in the reference material includes Seinfeld, The Nanny, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Cops, Leverage, Swamp People and movie strands.

• music television programming · 2012

  The Voice music blocks

  After the Kutonen rebrand, The Voice continued as a related music identity outside regular hours on Kutonen and TV Viisi. The blocks included pop, rap, rock, Finnish music, retrospectives, seasonal music, charts and interactive formats. Earlier examples included The Voice Top Ten, 100% Rock, Parasta Suomesta, Pop Hop, The Voice of Summer and The Voice of Xmas.

• general-entertainment television service · 2008

  TV Viisi

  TV Viisi was the general-entertainment identity introduced by SBS within The Voice’s schedule in 2008 and moved to its own channel in 2011. Its output included cost-conscious imported programming, selected films and sports. It is an important predecessor and related service in Kutonen’s brand history rather than a product launched under the Kutonen name.

• Criticism of the 100% Rock programming block

  Some Finnish Christian and Pentecostal groups criticized The Voice’s 100% Rock block and temporarily boycotted the channel. They associated rock and heavy-metal music with Satanism and alleged negative effects on young people, despite the account stating that the programme did not contain Satanist music. The controversy was part of a wider cultural debate about rock and metal music in Finland.

  Source

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• 2012

  The Voice TV is repositioned as KutonenStrategy

  Background

  A prime-time comedy experiment had not restored the former strength of The Voice’s music-only positioning, and SBS sought to broaden the channel’s audience.

  Action taken

  The channel was renamed Kutonen and given a general-entertainment profile with an emphasis on male viewers. The Voice remained as a related music brand outside regular hours.

  Aftermath

  Kutonen became the channel’s principal general-entertainment identity, linking Finnish programming with the visual and programming conventions of SBS’s European portfolio, including Denmark’s 6'eren.

  Source

• 2011

  TV Viisi is separated from The VoiceStrategy

  Background

  The shared schedule had weakened the clarity of The Voice’s music identity and generated complaints from viewers who preferred a continuous music channel.

  Action taken

  TV Viisi moved to its own channel on 1 April, while The Voice returned to a 24-hour music schedule.

  Aftermath

  The Voice regained its dedicated music format temporarily, while TV Viisi retained some music content through The Voice 5.

  Source

• 2008

  SBS introduces a general-entertainment blockStrategy

  Background

  SBS sought to promote related pay-television offerings and use its free-to-air presence for broader entertainment and sports content.

  Action taken

  TV Viisi was introduced as an evening block within The Voice, carrying imported programmes, films and sports.

  Aftermath

  The block attracted large audiences for football broadcasts but reduced the amount of music programming and contributed to dissatisfaction among established The Voice viewers.

  Source

• 2004

  SBS acquires Viisi and changes its identityM&A

  Background

  Viisi had been launched by Vizor Media as an interactive digital television service, but SBS had already supplied personnel, advertising support and related media cooperation.

  Action taken

  SBS acquired the channel and relaunched it as The Voice TV, shifting the proposition toward continuous music television.

  Aftermath

  The service became part of SBS’s Nordic and European The Voice brand network and later developed stronger links with Finnish radio and online properties.

  Source

1. 1Kutonen (TV channel)en.wikipedia.org