Channel One (British cable network)

Last updated

Channel One was a network of local cable news channels owned by Daily Mail and General Trust, a press conglomerate. Starting in London on 30 November 1994, the channel later started separate channels for Bristol and Liverpool. In 1998 DMGT shut down two of its channels while selling the Liverpool channel, which remained on air under new ownership until 2002.

History

The Associated Newspapers launched Channel One in London on 30 November 1994, becoming the first local channel to start broadcasting at a local level. The network employed thirty street-based one-man journalist crews at launch. Breakfaset programming consisted of "fast coverage" of news and traffic, daytime programming consisting of rolling news and magazine programmes, and the late afternoon consisted of planning for the evening's travel and entertainment. Much of the coverage was live, in order to cover key local events. As a basic cable channel, it claimed a potential audience of 300,000 viewers, coupled with the London area having 40% of the cable network (being a heavily cabled city) at the time of its launch. [1] In June 1995, the channel gained the rights to air two-and-a-half hours of Wimbledon highlights during the run of that year's tournament, giving overall a three-year period of secondary rights. [2] It also announced that one of its programmes, Digital World became the first programme to be streamed online, limited to still pictures, with the hopes of adding audio. [3] Within less than a year from launch, Channel One London had gained high ratings, ahead of Sky News but behind the four terrestrial channels. [4]

In June 1995, Channel One announced the creation of its second outlet covering Bristol and Bath. [5] Associated Newspapers had interests in the region, owning two newspapers, the Western Morning News and Bristol Evening Post. The channel launched on 1 February 1996, covering 50,000 households served by United Artists' cable TV service. [6]

Although Channel One was doing well in its programming, its revenues did not increase by 1996, due to a lower-than-expected number of subscribers. [7] In September 1997, Channel One London teamed up with the Press Association to reformulate it as a "truly local" service, recruiting five of its journalists. [8]

On 2 September 1998, DMGT announced the closure of its two operations owned entirely by the conglomerate, in London and Bristol, while the station in Liverpool, partially owned by the Trinity Group, continued operations. DMGT announced that the number of cable subscribers wasn't scheduled to break even by the end of the 10-year period in its licence (which was scheduled to end in 2004). [9] The news came after the death of Viscount Rothermere, the owner's chairman, the day prior. [10] The final news bulletin on Channel One London aired at 5pm on 25 September 1998, followed at 5:30pm by a compilation of footage aired by the channel. [11]

Channel One Liverpool, which started in 1996, shut down at 12pm on 30 October 2002, bringing a definitive end to the network. Its 22 staff were searching for new jobs at the company's newspaper division. There was a plan to save the channel but Telewest halted its annual payments to Channel One. [12]

Related Research Articles

<i>Metro</i> (British newspaper) British tabloid newspaper

Metro is a British freesheet tabloid newspaper published by DMG Media. The newspaper is distributed from Monday to Friday mornings on public places in areas of England, Wales and Scotland. Copies are also handed out to pedestrians. In 2018, Metro overtook The Sun to become the most circulated newspaper in the United Kingdom.

Daily Mail and General Trust (DMGT) is a British multinational media conglomerate, the owner of the Daily Mail and several other titles. The 4th Viscount Rothermere is the chair and controlling shareholder of the company. The head office is located in Northcliffe House in Kensington, London. In January 2022, DMGT delisted from the London Stock Exchange following a successful offer for DMGT by Rothermere Continuation Limited.

Jonathan Harold Esmond Vere Harmsworth, 4th Viscount Rothermere, is a British peer and owner of a newspaper and media empire founded by his great-grandfather Harold Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Rothermere. He is the chairman and controlling shareholder of the Daily Mail and General Trust, formerly "Associated Newspapers", a media conglomerate which includes the Daily Mail.

L!VE TV was a British television station that was operated by Mirror Group Newspapers on cable television from 12 June 1995 until 5 November 1999. It was later revived for Sky from 2003. In 2006, L!VE TV's name was changed to Babeworld to reflect the channel's gradual change of focus towards "adult material".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CNA (TV network)</span> Singapore English language news channel

CNA is a Singapore-based multinational news channel owned by Mediacorp, the country's state-owned media conglomerate. The network is broadcast in Singapore on free-to-air terrestrial television and Mediacorp's streaming service meWatch, and is distributed internationally via television providers in the Asia–Pacific, as well as streaming and free ad-supported streaming television (FAST) platforms

CableView Services Sdn. Bhd., operating as Mega TV was Malaysia's first ever subscription-based pay television service. It was incorporated on 18 October 1994 and began transmissions on 1 November 1995 and was operated by Sistem Televisyen Malaysia Berhad (TV3), a Malaysian free-to-air television network owned and operated by Malaysian Resources Corporation Berhad (MRCB).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">StarHub TV</span> Cable television operator in Singapore

Star Hub TV is a pay television service provided by StarHub in Singapore. It has been a subsidiary of StarHub Limited since StarHub acquired Singapore Cable Vision (SCV) in 2001, and was the sole pay-TV operator in the country until 2007 when mio TV, an IPTV service from its competitor, Singtel, was launched.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kanal 5 (Swedish TV channel)</span> Swedish free-to-air television channel

Kanal 5 is a Swedish television channel that was launched in 1989. It is owned by the US-based media company Warner Bros. Discovery, changing its ownership from ProSiebenSat.1 Media in April 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Toledo 5</span> Former cable channel in Toledo, Ohio, United States

Toledo 5, The CW was a local origination cable television channel based in Toledo, Ohio that was operated by the Buckeye CableSystem, itself owned by locally based Block Communications. Originally exclusive to Buckeye’s subscribers in Northwest Ohio and carried on channel 5 throughout its service area, the channel later expanded distribution to other cable providers throughout the Toledo designated market area, which carried Toledo 5 on various channel positions determined by each provider.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Foxnet</span> National cable feed of Fox for smaller markets (1991–2006)

Foxnet was a national cable programming service of the Fox Broadcasting Company that was owned by the Fox Entertainment Group division of News Corporation. The service, which operated from June 6, 1991 to September 12, 2006, was intended for American television markets ranked #100 and above by Nielsen Media Research estimates that lacked availability for a locally based Fox broadcast affiliate.

The Miami Valley Channel, known at various times as UPN 44 and UPN 17, was a local cable television channel based in Dayton, Ohio. MVC launched in September 1994 and ceased operations at the end of 2006. Owned and operated by Cox Media Group, through its local CBS affiliate, WHIO-TV, the channel was available in the Miami Valley area of Ohio on Time Warner Cable (TWC) and TWC's predecessor companies.

<i>Bristol Post</i> British newspaper

The Bristol Post is a city/regional five-day-a-week newspaper covering news in the city of Bristol, including stories from the whole of Greater Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire. It was titled the Bristol Evening Post until April 2012. The website was relaunched as BristolLive in April 2018. It is owned by Reach PLC, formerly known as Trinity Mirror.

The media in Cornwall has a long and distinct history. The county has a wide range of different types and quality of media.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tara Television</span>

Tara Television was an Irish cable and satellite channel aimed primarily at Irish people living in Britain, it was set up in 1996 and began broadcasting a year later before being finally wound up during the early hours of 1 July 2002 by the Irish High Court.

This is a list of British television-related events from 1996.

The Vision Interfaith Satellite Network (VISN) was an American religious cable and satellite television network that was owned by the interfaith group National Interfaith Cable Coalition, in cooperation with cable operators. The channel became known as the "PBS of religion" for the inclusive nature of its programming, which was designed to "place its accent on dialogue rather than apologies."

Leon Hawthorne is a British television executive, journalist and presenter. He was a World News anchor for CNN (1996–1999) and a political correspondent for the BBC in Westminster (1999) before founding The Baby Channel, the world's first parenting television network, of which he was CEO until July 2008. From 2007, Hawthorne has focussed on creating niche TV channels for the Internet, including Beauty Zone TV, Book Zone TV and Theatreland TV.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Disney XD (United Kingdom and Ireland)</span> Childrens television channel, 1996–2020

Disney XD, formerly the Fox Kids Network, Fox Kids and Jetix, was a children's pay television channel that was operated in the UK & Ireland from 19 October 1996 to 30 September 2020. At the time of closure, it was owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company Limited, the EMEA arm of the Walt Disney Company.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Local TV Limited</span> Local television network in the United Kingdom

Local TV is a local television network in the United Kingdom, operating nine channels serving the Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Leeds, London, Liverpool, North Wales, Teesside and Tyne and Wear areas.

This is a timeline of local television in the United Kingdom. This refers to stations transmitting to a small area such as a city or part of a county, not to larger regions covered by ITV and BBC regions.

References

  1. ↑ "Channel One Launches Today". The Media Leader. November 30, 1994.
  2. ↑ "Channel One Wins Wimbledon Rights". The Media Leader. June 23, 1995.
  3. ↑ "Channel One Transmits Live On The Internet". The Media Leader. June 23, 1995.
  4. ↑ "Channel One Rates Highest For News". The Media Leader. October 9, 1995.
  5. ↑ "Channel One Expansion". The Media Leader. June 8, 1995.
  6. ↑ Week, Marketing (February 2, 1996). "Channel One launches regional roll-out in Avon". Marketing Week.
  7. ↑ "Channel One Revenues Disappointing". The Media Leader. June 13, 1996.
  8. ↑ "Relaunch For Channel One". The Media Leader. September 18, 1997.
  9. ↑ Boehm, Erich (September 4, 1998). "Channel One unplugs 2 sites". Variety.
  10. ↑ "Channel One closes a day after Viscount Rothermere dies". www.campaignlive.co.uk.
  11. ↑ "The last hour of Channel One London (25th September 1998)". October 2, 2017 – via YouTube.
  12. ↑ "Channel One closes after six years". Liverpool Echo. 30 October 2002.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.