The Sports Channel
| Sky Sports | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Launched | 20 April 1991 |
| Owned by | Sky plc |
| Picture format |
576i, 16:9 (SDTV) 1080i (HDTV) 2160i (UHDTV) |
| Audience share | 0.91% (1) 0.40% (2) 0.06% (3) 0.11% (4) 0.08% (5) 0.00% (all Active feeds) (February 2016, BARB) |
| Slogan | Your home of sport |
| Replaced | The Sports Channel |
| Sister channel(s) |
Challenge, Pick, Real Lives, Sky 1, Sky 2, Sky Arts, Sky Atlantic, Sky Cinema, Sky Cinema Box Office, Sky Living, Sky News, Sky Sports F1, Sky Sports News HQ |
| Website | SkySports.com |
|
Availability
|
|
| Satellite | |
| Sky | Channel 401 to 405 (1 SD/HD to 5 SD/HD) Channel 407 (Mix SD/HD) Channel 409, 435-436, 439-440 (1 to 5) Channel 472 (Mix) On Demand |
| BFBS | Channel 5 and 6 (1 and 2) |
| Cable | |
|
Virgin Media (UK) |
Channel 501 to 505 (1 HD to 5 HD) Channel 507 (Mix SD/HD) Channel 511 to 515 (1 to 5) Channel 517 Mix Sky Anytime |
| Virgin Media Ireland | Channel 430 (Mix HD) Channel 432 to 436 (1 HD to 5 HD) Channel 400 (Mix) Channel 402 to 406 (1 to 5) |
| IPTV | |
| TalkTalk TV | Channel 402 to 406 (1 to 5) |
| BT TV | Channel 437 and 438 (1 HD and 2 HD) Channel 402, 403 and 406 (1, 2 and 5) |
| Streaming media | |
| Sky Go |
Watch live (UK and Ireland only) |
| Virgin TV Anywhere | Watch live (UK only) |
| Now TV | Watch live (UK only) |
| The Sports Channel | |
|---|---|
| Launched | 25 March 1990 |
| Closed | 20 April 1991 (Renamed by Sky Sports) |
| Owned by |
BSB (1990) BSkyB (1990–1991) |
|
Availability (At time of closure)
|
|
| Satellite | |
| Analogue | Marcopolo 1 11.93846 |
Sky Sports is a group of sports television channels operated by the satellite pay-TV company Sky plc. Sky Sports is the dominant subscription television sports brand in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It has played a major role in the increased commercialisation of British sport since 1991, sometimes playing a large role in inducing organisational changes in the sports it broadcasts, most notably when it encouraged the Premier League to break away from The Football League in 1992.
Sky Sports 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 are available as a premium package on top of the basic Sky package. These channels are also available as premium on nearly every satellite, cable and IPTV broadcasting system in the UK and Ireland. Sky Sports News HQ and Sky Sports Mix are both provided as part of basic packages. The Sky Sports network is managed by Barney Francis.
At launch on 5 February 1989, Sky Television operated Eurosport as a 50/50 joint venture with the European Broadcasting Union. The channel was marketed as one of Sky's four channels upon its launch, although additional sports programmes such as long-running international cricket coverage was occasionally broadcast on Sky Channel.
However, the service had encountered a legal challenge from rival sports channel Screensport, a joint venture between WH Smith Television and America's ESPN network. Subtitled as 'The European Sports Network', the channel was also available on the Astra satellite and available to early Sky viewers. Screensport's contention was that the involvement of the EBU with Sky's Eurosport channel had the effect of restricting and distorting competition in the sports market.
The European Commission agreed, and the Eurosport joint venture ceased broadcasting in early 1991. Screensport's victory was to be short-lived, as Eurosport would within months return under new ownership, this time with French broadcaster TF1 in Sky's place as 50% shareholder, and Screensport would eventually merge with the revived Eurosport in March 1993.
...
Wikipedia