Month: February 2020

Further Sky Branded Channels to Launch

Sky Documentaries and Sky Nature are due to launch this spring, and will be joined by Sky History and Sky History 2.

Sky History is part of a joint venture between A+E Networks UK and Sky, and will be a rebrand of the current History channel. Both Sky History and Sky History 2 will be available on Sky’s Now TV streaming platform, as well as Virgin Media, BT TV and TalkTalk TV.

The changes are also due to take place this spring, with both channels to continue being operated and managed by A+E Networks UK.

Subscriber Losses for Virgin Media

Cable TV platform Virgin Media, owned by Liberty Global, has lost customers in both the UK and Ireland. In the UK, 110,900 subscribers were lost, while in Ireland the figure is 9,400.

Heavy discounting by rivals has been attributed to the subscriber decline in the UK. However, total revenue in the UK has increased.

Liberty Global have also seen a drop in customers in Belgium and Switzerland. In the UK, Virgin Media also provide internet, phone, and mobile services.

Sewing Street Launches

A sewing channel themed shopping channel has returned to Freeview channel 73, under the name Sewing Street. Sewing Street launched on Friday and is being operated by Gemporia who reacquired the Jewellery Maker channel from Immediate Media, after the latter decided to exit the TV market.

Channel 73 was previously home to Sewing Quarter which has now closed. Gemporia took over the Freeview slot, but not the Sky slot or the Sewing Quarter website. However, a Sky launch for Sewing Street is planned.

Sewing Quarter itself has now closed, but the management behind the channel have transferred to Sewing Street.

Financial Difficulties at Information TV Lead to Channel Closure

Information TV, owned by now collapsed parent company Carlauren Group Ltd, has been in financial difficulties since 2019. This has now led to channel changes.

Sports channel Front Runner has now closed. The channel was home to Greyhound Racing, which has moved to Live 360. Live 360 is available on Sky channel 175, and can be streamed on compatible Freeview boxes via Vision TV on channel 264.

Meanwhile, sister channel Showcase TV is transitioning to new satellite capacity, and is currently unavailable on Sky and Freesat, but is expected to return. Showcase TV allows smaller, niche broadcasters to book out blocks of time on the channel, enabling part time broadcasting.