Sky3
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| Sky3 | ||
|---|---|---|
 | ||
| Owned by | BSkyB | |
| Picture format | 576i (SDTV) | |
| Sister channel(s) | Sky1, Sky2, Sky1 HD | |
| Website | ||
| Availability | ||
| Country |  UK  IRL
| |
| Channel(s) | Freeview Channel 11 Sky Digital Channel 108 (later 223) | |
Sky3 (originally Sky Three, later Sky 3) was a free-to-air entertainment channel operated by BSkyB in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland. The channel served as a showcase for programming from Sky's premium channels, particularly Sky1, making selected content available to viewers without a Sky subscription.
History
Launch and Purpose
Sky Three launched on 31 October 2005, replacing Sky Travel's EPG slot on Freeview in a bid to attract more subscribers to Sky's satellite service.[1] It was the first free-to-air general entertainment channel from Sky since Sky One became a pay channel in 1993.[1]
The channel was essentially a barker channel for Sky's main entertainment channel Sky One and its other subscription services, designed to "offer digital terrestrial viewers the opportunity to enjoy a wide variety of popular programmes from Sky."[1] Due to its wider availability on Freeview channel 11, the channel constantly had higher ratings than Sky Two, achieving on average a 1% share compared to Sky Two's 0.1–3% share.[1]
Name Changes
In 2008, Sky's channels got another new look, and the channels were referred to as "Sky1", "Sky2" and "Sky3".[2] In 2008, Sky's entertainment channels changed the wording in the logos to numbers, hence Sky Three became Sky 3.[1]
A final rebrand took place in early 2011 and saw Sky 1, 2 and 3 gain similar rectangular logos to Sky News and Sky Sports. On 1 February 2011, Sky Atlantic launched on Sky channel 108, which had originally been occupied by Sky 3.[1] Sky 3 was renamed Pick TV on 1 March 2011, to disassociate the channel with Sky as it began to air more programmes from the former Channel One and Bravo.[1]
Battlestar Galactica on Sky3
Battlestar Galactica embarked on its first free-to-view TV transmission in the UK when Sky Three began airing the show's first season on Thursday, 22 June 2006. The channel broadcast the opening episodes "33" and "Water" back-to-back.[3]
Battlestar Galactica's free-to-view UK debut was widely welcomed by critics, with the leading British TV listing magazine Radio Times hailing the show "a dazzling wagon-trains-in-space opera."[3]
The free-to-air broadcast represented a significant expansion of the show's UK audience, as it had previously been available only to Sky1 subscribers. The channel showed the free-to-air premieres of some of Sky One's more prestigious shows, such as series 3 and 4 of 24, Rescue Me, The 10th Kingdom, Hex, and the latest remake of Battlestar Galactica.[1]
Programming
Early highlights from the channel's schedule included Futurama, Cold Case, Tru Calling, Relic Hunter, Road Wars, the Inside strand of documentaries, Brainiac: Science Abuse, Airline, and 35mm from Sky Movies (which looked at upcoming films in the cinema and on Sky's premium movies service Sky Movies) and Dream Team.[1]
The channel also showed series 3 and 4 of Prison Break in 2010, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Star Trek: The Next Generation.[1]
Technical Details
On 23 August 2010, Sky Sports News became a pay-TV channel, which was replaced on Freeview by a one-hour timeshift version of Sky 3. Sky 3 +1 also launched on Sky channel 223 on the same day.[1]
Legacy
Instead of Sky selling on the terrestrial free-to-air rights for their programmes to another broadcaster, these rights were usually retained to remain exclusive to Sky through Sky3.[1] This strategy allowed Sky to maintain control over its premium content while using it as a marketing tool to attract new subscribers to its paid satellite service.
The channel's rebrand to Pick TV in 2011 marked the end of the Sky3 brand, though the channel continued broadcasting under different ownership and branding, eventually becoming Pick in 2013 and Sky Mix in 2023.
References
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 Sky Mix (backup available on Archive.org) (in English). Wikipedia. Retrieved on 2024.
- ↑ History of Sky television idents (backup available on Archive.org) (in English). EverybodyWiki. Retrieved on 2024.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 (October/November 2006) "Free For All". Battlestar Galactica: The Official Magazine (7): 11.