Channel One (British and Irish TV channel)
British Sky Broadcasting) | |
History | |
---|---|
Launched | 1 October 2007 |
Replaced | Ftn |
Closed | 1 February 2011 |
Replaced by |
|
Former names | Virgin1 (2007–2010) |
Channel One was a British
BSkyB acquired the channel on 4 June 2010 and rebranded it as Channel One. On 15 September 2010, BSkyB announced that it would close Channel One and sister channels
History
It was announced in the summer of 2007 that Virgin Media Television was to launch the new channel. The network had previously expressed their interest in running a general entertainment channel to coincide with the relaunch on NTL: Telewest to Virgin Media. At first, the company stated that all of their other channels including Ftn, would still run as normal, but because of Ftn having a key Freeview primetime slot, this was later changed.[2]
The channel was launched as Virgin1 at 21:00 on 1 October 2007 on all platforms (
On 20 February 2008, the channel moved from FTN's old slots on channels 153 and 154 on
On 27 April 2009, it was announced that Virgin1 (on Freeview) would move from multiplex D to multiplex A, allowing the channel to broadcast 24 hours a day. It's vacated slot was used to launch a time-shifted version of the channel which broadcast from 18:00 to 06:00. In Wales, it was only available from 09:00 to 19:00, with the +1 service only available from 19:00.
On 14 May 2009, Virgin Media Television announced plans to revamp the channel. On 9 June 2009, it underwent a rebranding with new
On 20 October 2009, the channel reduced its hours on Freeview to 09:00 – 03:00, allowing Tease Me TV to launch. The revocation of TMTV's licence in November 2010 freed up the bandwidth it used from Channel One, but it was left vacant until the closure of the channel.
From 30 October 2009, the channel briefly aired TNA iMPACT! at 21:00 (which was also shown on sister channel Bravo at the time). This was the first time wrestling has been aired on free television in the UK since 2001.
On 1 June 2010, the time-shifted version of the channel ceased broadcasting on Freeview channel 35, allowing
On 4 June 2010, British Sky Broadcasting and Virgin Media announced that they had reached an agreement for the acquisition by Sky of
Closure
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/d/d3/Channel_One_closedown_slide.png/220px-Channel_One_closedown_slide.png)
On 15 September 2010, BSkyB announced that it would close Channel One and its sister channels Bravo and
Most watched broadcasts
The following is a list of the ten most watched shows on Channel One, based on Live +7 data supplied by
Rank | Show | Episode | Number of viewers | Date |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles | 1.01 – "Pilot" | 764,000 | 21 February 2008 |
2 | Warehouse 13 | 1.01 – "Pilot" | 570,000 | 8 April 2010 |
3 | Warehouse 13 | 1.02 – "Resonance" | 555,000 | 15 April 2010 |
4 | V | 1.01 – "Pilot" | 541,000 | 11 October 2010 |
5 | V | 1.02 – "There is No Normal Anymore" | 495,000 | 18 October 2010 |
6 | Warehouse 13 | 1.04 – "Claudia" | 479,000 | 29 April 2010 |
7 | Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles | 1.03 – "The Turk" | 463,000 | 6 March 2008 |
8 | Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles | 1.05 – "Queen's Gambit" | 450,000 | 20 March 2008 |
9 | Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles | 1.02 – " Gnothi Seauton " |
446,000 | 28 February 2008 |
10 | Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles | 1.04 – "Heavy Metal" | 445,000 | 13 March 2008 |
Programming
The schedule for Channel One consisted of a mixture of British and American comedy, drama and factual programming, both acquired and commissioned. The channel was pitched between male-targeted channel Bravo and female-targeted channel Living. In addition to exclusive content, Channel One also showed some content from Living, Bravo and Challenge.
Former logos
-
Virgin1 logo
(2007–2009) -
Virgin1 logo
(2009–2010) -
Channel One logo
(2010–2011)
References
- ^ Sweney, Mark (15 September 2010). "BSkyB to close Bravo and Channel One". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 5 November 2013. Retrieved 15 September 2010.
- ^ "Launch of Virgin 1 on Freeview". Freeview. Archived from the original on 18 July 2010. Retrieved 24 August 2006.
- ^ "Virgin 1 Freeview channel to rival Sky One". tech.co.uk. 11 June 2007. Archived from the original on 1 November 2007. Retrieved 4 November 2007.
- ^ "Virgin 1 takes Bravo's Sky EPG slots". Digital Spy. 31 January 2008. Archived from the original on 31 August 2010. Retrieved 23 October 2009.
- ^ "Terminator series gives Virgin 1 record audience". Brand Republic. 22 February 2008. Archived from the original on 8 October 2008. Retrieved 23 February 2008.
- ^ "Virgin1 to go 24 hours on Freeview". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on 30 April 2009. Retrieved 27 April 2009.
- ^ "UKTV extends Yesterday Freeview hours". Digital Spy. 26 May 2010. Archived from the original on 29 May 2010. Retrieved 1 June 2010.
- ^ Sweney, Mark (5 August 2010). "BSkyB rebrands Virgin1 as Channel One". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 21 May 2014. Retrieved 5 August 2010.
- ^ "Virgin secures new Sky carriage deal after VMtv sale". Broadband TV News. 4 June 2010. Archived from the original on 7 June 2010. Retrieved 4 June 2010.