 | |
| Country | United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Programming | |
| Language(s) | English |
| Picture format | 16:9 SDTV |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | ITV plc (July–August 2020) Sky Group (August–September 2020) |
| History | |
| Launched | 29 July 2020 |
| Closed | 17 September 2020 (3 years) |
| Replaced by | Sky Arts (Freeview) |
Merit was a short-lived time-shared British lifestyle and entertainment TV channel which was a part of the Freeview lineup in the late summer of 2020. [1] [2] [3]
The channel began broadcasting at 9pm on 29 July 2020, its launch delayed from the earlier date of 8 July; under its first iteration it was owned by the ITV Digital Channels division of ITV plc. [4] It broadcast three hours daily from 9pm to midnight on the former ITV3 +1 Freeview channel slot (which itself was moved to channel 58). [5] During ITV Digital Channels' control of the channel, it ran no advertisements. [6]
The channel's licence was acquired by Sky UK Limited on 20 August 2020. [1] On 17 September 2020, the channel's Freeview slot (34) was taken over by Pick, which moved to accommodate the launch of Sky Arts on channel 11, [7] and Merit consequently ceased transmission that day at midnight. [8]
The channel didn't broadcast original programming, with the content shown being archival or imported programming from its respective licence holders. Programming from Sky included Four Weddings and the American and New Zealand versions of My Kitchen Rules , while ITV's contributions included The Hungry Sailors and Britain's Best Back Gardens.[ citation needed ]
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded entirely by its commercial activities, including publicity. It began its transmission in 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service in the United Kingdom. At the time, the only other channels were the licence-funded BBC1 and BBC2, and a single commercial broadcasting network, ITV.
Freeview is the United Kingdom's sole digital terrestrial television platform. It is operated by Everyone TV and DTV Services Ltd, a joint venture between the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5 and Sky. It was launched on 30 October 2002, taking over the licence from ITV Digital which collapsed that year. The service provides consumer access via an aerial to the seven DTT multiplexes covering the United Kingdom. As of July 2020, it has 85 TV channels, 26 digital radio channels, 10 HD channels, six text services, 11 streamed channels, and one interactive channel.
S4C is a Welsh language free-to-air public broadcast television channel. Launched on 1 November 1982, it was the first television channel to be aimed specifically at a Welsh-speaking audience. S4C's headquarters are based in Carmarthen, at the University of Wales Trinity Saint David's creative and digital centre, Yr Egin. It also has regional offices in Caernarfon and Cardiff. As of 2024, S4C had an average of 118 employees. S4C is the fourth-oldest terrestrial television channel in Wales after BBC One, ITV and BBC Two.
Regular television broadcasts in the United Kingdom started in 1936 as a public service which was free of advertising, which followed the first demonstration of a transmitted moving image in 1926. Currently, the United Kingdom has a collection of free-to-air, free-to-view and subscription services over a variety of distribution media, through which there are over 480 channels for consumers as well as on-demand content. There are six main channel owners who are responsible for most material viewed.
ITV1 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the British media company ITV plc. It provides the Channel 3 public broadcast service across all of the United Kingdom except for the central and northern areas of Scotland where STV provides the service.
ITV3 is a British free-to-air television channel owned by ITV Digital Channels, a division of ITV plc. The channel was first launched on Monday 1 November 2004 at 9 pm, replacing Plus (Granada). ITV3 is the sixth-largest UK television channel by audience share and the largest after the five main terrestrial services, the position which was previously held by its sister station ITV2. The channel is known for repeats of ITV dramas, and including sequential reruns of Agatha Christie's Poirot, Classic Coronation Street, Classic Emmerdale, Heartbeat, Inspector Morse and A Touch of Frost, amongst others as well as formerly showing repeats of Kojak, Numb3rs, Columbo, Cagney & Lacey and The Bill.
Digital terrestrial television in the United Kingdom encompasses over 100 television, radio and interactive services broadcast via the United Kingdom's terrestrial television network and receivable with a standard television set. The majority of digital terrestrial television (DTT) services, including the five former analogue channels, are broadcast free-to-air, and a further selection of encrypted pay TV services are also available.
Ideal World is a British TV shopping channel, broadcasting on DTT, satellite and online, with transactional websites, previously hosted from studios in Peterborough.
High-definition television in the United Kingdom is available via cable, IPTV, satellite and terrestrial television. The first high-definition broadcasts began in late 2005 and since then the number of channels available to view has grown to a maximum of 87 that can be viewed on pay-TV service, Sky.
Freeview is the name for the collection of free-to-air services on the Digital Terrestrial Television platform in the United Kingdom. The service was launched at 5 am on 30 October 2002 and is jointly operated by its five equal shareholders – BBC, ITV, Channel 4, BSkyB and transmitter operator Arqiva. This article documents the history of the Freeview service, from its inception up to the present.
TalkLeeds is a local television station serving Leeds and West Yorkshire. The station is owned and operated by Local Television Limited and forms part of a group of eight Local TV stations. It broadcasts from studios and offices in the Chapeltown area of Leeds.
TalkLiverpool is a local television station serving Liverpool City Region and surrounding areas. The station is owned and operated by Local Television Limited and forms part of a group of nine LOCAL TV stations. It broadcasts from studios and offices in the Toxteth suburb of Liverpool.
TalkBirmingham is a British local television station, serving Birmingham, the Black Country, Wolverhampton and Solihull in the West Midlands of England.
That's Manchester is a local television station serving Greater Manchester. It is owned and operated by That's TV and broadcasts on Freeview channel 7 from studios at The Flint Glass Works in the Ancoats suburb of Manchester.
TalkBristol is a local television station serving Bristol and surrounding areas.
Local TV is a local television network in the United Kingdom, operating eight stations serving the Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Leeds, Liverpool, North Wales, Teesside and Tyne and Wear areas, under the Talk TV name.
That's TV is a national television network in the United Kingdom, broadcasting via Sky, Freesat, Freeview, and Virgin Media. That's TV started off as the owner of a number of local television licences in several conurbations, but even though regional news can still be found via these services, these channels simulcast the classic hits and television schedule of the national That's TV channel for most of the day. That's Television Ltd is owned by That's Media Ltd, which is based at The Flint Glass Works in the Ancoats neighbourhood of Manchester.
This is a timeline of the history of the British television network ITV.
This is a timeline of the British company ITV Digital Channels and its predecessors Granada Sky Broadcasting and Carlton Communications, and digital channels of other ITV-related companies. The timeline does not include events related to ITV network's flagship channel.
ITV | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Channels |
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Companies |
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Divisions, brands and services |
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ITV (network) franchises and regions |
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Timelines |
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Regulators | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Other | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
