Among its highest-rated programs are the comedy sketch show Spaugstofan, mystery drama Ófærð (Trapped) and Fréttir (News).

It is the Icelandic Olympic Broadcaster and has also usually holds rights to the FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro competitions.

It is a member of the European Broadcasting Union and is responsible for selecting Iceland's entries to the Eurovision Song Contest.

[1] Since there was much skepticism over the influence of the Keflavik station, and that it had sufficient coverage in Reykjavik, the Icelandic government began studying the possibility of a state-funded television service in 1963, eight years after the first American broadcasts.

[1] The committee worked with the Icelandic Posts, Telegraphs and Telecommunications Corporation to build a 5,000-watt television transmitter at Skálafell mountain, with low-powered relay stations being built for cost-related reasons.

Having lost its monopoly and sharing the market with Stöð 2 a year before, Sjónvarpið ended the era of television-free Thursdays on 1 October 1987, resulting in the first full week of television in Iceland.

[1] Starting on March 1, 1982, Icelandic television viewers were able to watch daily reports from abroad on their evening newscast.

This was later moved to the Thor 5 satellite over DVB-S, in order to service fishing fleets around Iceland and remote areas where the terrestrial network does not reach.

[13][14] Transmissions on the older DVB-T system in standard definition ceased on 3 June 2024, however DVB-T2 broadcasts in HD only remain.

[15] In 2021, television transmissions for the Reykjavík area were moved from Vatnsendi to Úlfarsfell, ending 70 years of broadcasting from the location.

[16] From the inauguration of Sjónvarpið in 1966 until as late as 1982, an electronically generated, heavily modified version of the Philips PM5540 monochrome test card was utilised during off-air hours, with the words Ríkisútvarpið SJÓNVARP occasionally appearing in the top and bottom black segments respectively.

In 2011, the test card was discontinued when an overnight filler programme similar to ITV Nightscreen was introduced during RÚV's off-air hours.

[24] RÚV is the Icelandic Olympic Broadcaster and has also usually holds rights to the FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro competitions.

It is a member of the European Broadcasting Union and is responsible for selecting Iceland's entries to the Eurovision Song Contest.

Recent original programming that RÚV has produced is listed as follows (recurring and one-off): They have also aired other shows which were dubbed in the Icelandic language, such as Woody Woodpecker, Butterfly Island, Bluey, The Flintstones, Bertha, Fraggle Rock, Wowser, Thomas and Friends, Bob the Builder, Angelina Ballerina, and many more.