Sky Multichannels
Sky Multichannels was a package of analogue television channels offered by BSkyB on the Astra satellites at 19.2° east.[1][2] from 1993 - 2001, which started off with 15 channels before expanding to over 40.
Contents
History
The service started on 1 September 1993[3] based on the idea from the then chief executive officer, Sam Chisholm and Rupert Murdoch, of converting the company business strategy to an entirely fee-based concept. The new package included four channels formerly available free-to-air, broadcasting on Astra's satellites, as well as introducing new channels.[2] The service continued until the closure of BSkyB's analogue service on 27 September 2001,[4] due to the launch and expansion of the Sky Digital platform. Some of the channels did broadcast either in the clear or soft encrypted (whereby a Videocrypt decoder was required to decode, but without a subscription card) prior to their addition to the Sky Multichannels package.[5][6]
Within two months of the launch, Sky gained 400,000 new subscribers, with the majority taking at least one premium channel,[7] which helped BSkyB reach 3.5 million households by mid-1994.
Some channels were not launched on 1 September 1993, but were added later; including QVC which launched on 1 October 1993, and VH1 which launched on 1 October 1994.[8] When VH1 Germany launched in 1995, VideoCrypt decoders would blank out the channel to UK viewers and prevent them from watching the German channel free.[9] Nick at Nite, although part of the original Multichannels plan, did not launch.[10] Sky Soap and Sky Travel also launched on 3 October 1994 as part of the package.[11][12] The launch of Astra 1D allowed Sky to expand the multichannels package further,[13] including the launch of Sky's pay-per-view Box Office channels in January 1997.
Sky News and CNBC Europe[14] were also part of the Sky Multichannels package but remained free-to-air. QVC however, which launched as part of the Multichannels package, switched to free-to-view broadcasting in 1995.[15]
Channels which joined the Sky Multichannels package were paid a fee of 15 pence per subscriber per month.[5] A European Multichannels package run by BSkyB also using the VideoCrypt encryption system[16] was planned to be launched soon afterwards,[17] but did not come to fruition. A European package of channels called MultiChoice Kaleidoscope launched on 1 November 1993 using VideoCrypt 2 encryption. The Multichoice service was run by South African based Network Holdings, separate from BSkyB. The Multichoice service initially included Filmnet and The Adult Channel as premium channels and The Children's Channel (in Benelux only), Discovery, MTV, CMT Europe and QVC as basic channels.[18][19][20]
Promotion
British Sky Broadcasting ran television advertisements prior to the new service launching. However, in 1993, the Independent Television Commission ruled against BSkyB after ten complaints regarding a number of false claims involving some of the channels which were due to be part of the package[21] as well as further complaints about the adverts failing to show that a one-year contract needed to be taken out for any special introductory offer.[22]
To promote the Sky Multichannels package on the Astra satellites, a selection of channels was placed on Sky's preview channel on transponder 47 of Astra 1C in the clear.[23] The preview channel comprised promotional material in the centre of the screen and 12 channels around the edge,[24] including some English channels which were not part of the package. The channel was replaced by Sky Sports 2 on August 19, 1994.[11][25]
During sports programming on Sky One, prior to the launch of Sky Sports 2, channels which were part of the Sky Multichannels package were made available free-to-view, to allow sports subscribers who did not take up the Multichannels package to watch sports coverage, but it was also used to promote the package to viewers who had not signed up to the Multichannels package.[26]
Satellites
Sky Multichannels utilized space on the Astra 1A, Astra 1B, Astra 1C and Astra 1D satellites.
1993 channel list
The original subscription charge was £6.99 a month at launch, although those who signed up before 1 September 1993 could get the channels for the discounted price of £3.99 a month until the start of 1994.
Additional packages including the multiple channels alongside one or more of Sky's premium channels were available from £11.99 to £19.99.[8]
The channels were encrypted using NDS Group's VideoCrypt system,[1] and required a monthly subscription payment, VideoCrypt decoder and valid viewing card to receive the channels.
| Channel name | Encryption status (at launch) | Genre (at the time) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sky One | encrypted using VideoCrypt | General entertainment | |
| Sky News | Free-to-air | News | |
| UK Living | encrypted using VideoCrypt | General entertainment for women | Part owned by Flextech |
| Nickelodeon | encrypted using VideoCrypt | Children's programming | 07:00 - 19:00 |
| CNBC Europe | New | Business and news | 06.00 - midday sharing with Bravo and The Adult Channel |
| Bravo | encrypted using VideoCrypt | Classic TV and movies | Midday to midnight[27] Sharing with CNBC and The Adult channel |
| The Adult Channel | New | Pornography | Midnight - 04.00, shared with Bravo and CNBC |
| CMT Europe | encrypted using VideoCrypt | Country music videos | 06:00 - 16:00, time-shared with Discovery Channel. |
| Discovery Channel | encrypted using VideoCrypt | Documentaries | 16:00 - 06:00, time-shared with CMT Europe. |
| UK Gold | encrypted using VideoCrypt | Classic Programming | |
| The Children's Channel | Free-to-air | Children's programming | 06:00 - 17:00, time-shared with The Family Channel. |
| The Family Channel | Free-to-air | General Entertainment | 17:00 - 05:00, time-shared with The Children's Channel |
| QVC | Free-to-view encrypted using VideoCrypt | Shopping | Launched on 1 October 1993. |
| MTV Europe | Free-to-air | Music videos | MTV did not encrypt at the time Sky Multichannels launched,[28] but did so on 3 July 1995. The channel was encrypted with VideoCrypt 1 for UK viewers and in VideoCrypt 2 for European viewers.[9] |
| VH1 | New | Music videos aimed towards middle-agers | Launched on 1 October 1994, but was promoted from the start |
| Sky Soap | encrypted using VideoCrypt | Soap programs | 08:00 - 11:00, time-shared with Sky Travel |
| Sky Travel | encrypted using VideoCrypt | Travel programs | 11:00 - 08:00, time-shared with Sky Soap |
1995 channel list
In 1995 the number of Sky customers exceeded 5 million.[29] Sky Sports 2, Sky Soap, and Sky Travel which launched on 3 October 1994, joined the package.[30]
The launch of Astra 1D allowed Sky to expand the multichannels package further, with Sci Fi Channel, History Channel, and Paramount Channel, by November 1995. QVC however, which launched as part of the Multichannels package, switched to free-to-view broadcasting in 1995.[31]
| Channel number | Channel name | Encryption status | Genre (at the time) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sky One | encrypted using VideoCrypt | General entertainment | |
| 6 | UK Living | encrypted using VideoCrypt | General entertainment for women | 06.00-00.00 |
| 7 | Nickelodeon | encrypted using VideoCrypt | Children's programming | 07:00 - 19:00, |
| 7 | The Paramount Channel | New | Comedy and Drama | Launched 1 November 1995: 19:00 - 04:00, timeshared with Nickelodeon. |
| 8 | TLC UK | NEW | Documentaries | 09:00 - 16:00 |
| 8 | Discovery Channel | encrypted using VideoCrypt | Documentaries | 16:00 - 06:00 |
| 9 | UK Gold | encrypted using VideoCrypt | Classic Programming | |
| 10 | The Children's Channel | Free-to-air | Children's programming | 06:00 - 17:00, time-shared with The Family Channel. |
| 10 | The Family Channel | New | General entertainment | 17:00 - 00:00, time-shared with The Children's Channel. |
| 11 | Sky Travel | New | Travel programming | Launched 3 October 94: 06.00-12.00 weekday (Note see below) |
| 11 | Sky Soap | New | Soap | Launched 3 October 94: 12.00-16.00 weekday (Note see below) |
| 11 | History Channel | New | History | Launched 11 November 1995: 16.00-20.00 |
| 11 | Sci Fi Channel | New | Entertainment with a sci-fi theme | Launched 1 October 1995: 20.00-04.00 |
| 12 | QVC | Free-to-view encrypted using VideoCrypt | Shopping | Launched on 1 October 1993, but was promoted from the start. |
| 13 | CNBC Europe | New | Business and news | 06.00 - midday sharing with Bravo and The Adult Channel |
| 13 | Bravo | encrypted using VideoCrypt | Classic TV and movies | Midday to midnight |
| 14 | CMT Europe | encrypted using VideoCrypt | Country music videos | 06:00 - 19:00, time-shared with JSTV |
| 15 | MTV Europe | Free-to-air | Music videos | MTV did not encrypt at the time Sky Multichannels launched,[28] but did so on 3 July 1995. The channel was encrypted with VideoCrypt 1 for UK viewers, and in VideoCrypt 2 for European viewers.[9] |
| 16 | VH1 | New | Music videos aimed towards middle-agers | Launched on 1 October 1994, but was promoted from the start |
- Channel 11 notes: up until October 1995
- 0000-0600 - Daily Chinese news and entertainment (PAL/Clear)
- 0800-1200 - Weekdays Sky Soap (PAL/VideoCrypt/Multi channel)
- 1200-0000 - Mon to Thu and 1200-1800 Fri: Sky Travel (PAL/VideoCrypt/Multi channel)
- 1800-0000 - Fri,and 0800-0000 Sat, Sun Sky Sports 2 (PAL/VideoCrypt/Sports subscription)
1996 channel list
In 1996, Sky reached 6 million subscribers. Launch of a further six channels including Sky Sports 3 and extended its Premier league rights[29]
Further details can be seen here: http://wayback.archive.org/web/19961114121936/http://www.satcodx.com/astra.html and http://www.reocities.com/heartland/4407/uksw.htm
| Channel number | Channel name | Encryption status | Genre (at the time) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sky One | encrypted using VideoCrypt | General Entertainment | |
| 6 | UK Living | encrypted using VideoCrypt | General Entertainment for women | Part owned by Flextech |
| 7 | Nickelodeon | encrypted using VideoCrypt | Children's programming | 07:00 - 19:00, |
| 7 | The Paramount Channel | encrypted using VideoCrypt | Comedy and Drama | 19:00 - 04:00, timeshared with Nickelodeon. |
| 8 | CNBC Europe | encrypted using VideoCrypt | Business and news | 07.00 - 12.00 |
| 8 | Trouble | encrypted using VideoCrypt | Teenagers | 12.00 - 20.00, |
| 8 | Bravo | encrypted using VideoCrypt | Classic TV and movies | 20.00-07.00 |
| 9 | UK Gold | encrypted using VideoCrypt | Classic Programming | |
| 10 | The Children's Channel | Free-to-air | Children's programming | 06:00 - 17:00, time-shared with The Family Channel. |
| 10 | Challenge | encrypted using VideoCrypt | General Entertainment | 17:00 - 00:00, timeshared with The Children's Channel. |
| 11 | Sky Travel | encrypted using VideoCrypt | Travel programming | 07.00-12.00 - weekday |
| 11 | Sky Soap | encrypted using VideoCrypt | Soap | 12.00-16.00 - weekday |
| 11 | History Channel | encrypted using VideoCrypt | History | 16.00-20.00 - weekday |
| 11 | Sci Fi Channel | encrypted using VideoCrypt | Entertainment | Mon-Wed 20.00-04.00. Thurs-Sun 01.00-04.00 |
| 12 | QVC | Free-to-view encrypted using VideoCrypt | Shopping | Launched on 1 October 1993, but was promoted from the start. |
| 13 | TLC UK | encrypted using VideoCrypt | Documentaries | 09:00-16:00, |
| 13 | Discovery Channel | encrypted using VideoCrypt | Documentaries | 16.00-02:00, |
| 13 | HSN Direct | encrypted using VideoCrypt | Shopping | 02:00-09.00 |
| 14 | Fox Kids | encrypted using VideoCrypt | Cartoons | 06.00 - 19.00, sharing with Sky Two. |
| 14 | Sky Two | encrypted using VideoCrypt | General entertainment | 19.00 - 06.00. Sky 2 began broadcasting on 1 September 1996 at 7pm |
| 15 | MTV Europe | encrypted using VideoCrypt | Music videos | |
| 16 | VH1 | encrypted using VideoCrypt | Music videos aimed towards middle-agers | |
| 20 | Granada Plus | encrypted using VideoCrypt | Classic TV | 06.00 - 23.00, sharing with Cartoon Network Launched 17 September 1993 |
| 20 | Granada Men & Motors | encrypted using VideoCrypt | Sports and cult TV aimed at men | 23.00-02.00 |
| 21 | Granada Good Life | encrypted using VideoCrypt | Lifestyle programming aimed at women | 06.00 - 18.00, |
| 21 | Computer Channel | encrypted using VideoCrypt | Programming about computing | 18.00-20.00 |
| 22 | Granada Talk TV | encrypted using VideoCrypt | Talk and phone-in programming | 06.00-18.00, |
| 22 | Sky Scottish | encrypted using VideoCrypt | Scottish programmes | 18.00-20.00 |
| 23 | Sky Movies Gold | Premium channel | Classic movies | 17.00-05.00 |
| 25 | CMT Europe | encrypted using VideoCrypt | Country music videos | 24 hours |
1997
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- UKTV network launched added three new channels
- National Geographic Channel launches, Replacing Sky Two, time Sharing with Fox Kids
- Christian Ch. Europe (04-11), Sky Soap (11 -16) The History Channel (16-20) Sci-Fi Channel (20-04) Moved to a new channel allow Sky Sports 2 to broadcast longer.
- EBN - European Business News (06-12), Trouble (12-20), Bravo (20-06)
- Pay-per-view movies launch on Sky Box Office.
- http://www.selkirkshire.demon.co.uk/analoguesat/historiclists/Sky97.html
The Subscription Costs, July 1997
- Sky Multi Channel Package - £11.99 / month
- Sky Multi Channels + Sky Movies OR The Movie Channel - £17.99 / month
- Sky Multi Channels + Sky Sports 1 (SS2 and SS3 are bonus channels in this package)- £17.99 / month
- Sky Multi Channels + 2 Premium Channels + 2 bonus channels - £23.99 / month
- Sky Multi Channels + 3 Premium Channels + 4 bonus channels - £26.99 / month
Closure
Due to the growth of digital television and the Sky Digital platform, alongside greater choice of channels and the removal of channels having to timeshare due to bandwidth constraints, BSkyB soon announced that its analogue service would cease transmittion for good with all channels in the Multichannels package closing down by 2001.[32] BSkyB started to cease analogue with TV Travel Shop becoming exclusive to digital in late 1999. It then continued into February 2000 with many of the channels on Astra 1D being discontinued. In May 2001, it was announced that due to the possibility of lost revenue from the existing 242,000 analogue subscribers, the closure of the remaining analogue would be delayed until September 2001 from its original plan of June.[33][34] BSkyB closed down the last remaining channel in the Multichannels package, Sky One on September 27, 2001.[4]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ "GOOD UPTAKE FOR SKY MULTI-CHANNELS PACKAGE Friday 5 November 1993" http://www.telecompaper.com/news/good-uptake-for-sky-multichannels-package--10352
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.[dead link]
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ http://www.ftp.funet.fi/pub/dx/text/NEWS/SCDX/scdx2184.txt
- ↑ 28.0 28.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 29.0 29.1 http://www.skyuser.co.uk/sky20/sky_at_20_time_line.html
- ↑ http://ftp.funet.fi/pub/dx/text/satellite/telesatellit/ts941002.txt
- ↑ http://ftp.funet.fi/pub/dx/text/NEWS/SCDX/scdx2219.txt
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
