Regular television broadcasts in the United Kingdom started in 1936 as a public service which was free of advertising, while the introduction of television and the first tests commencing in 1927. 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.
Paramount Network is an American basic cable television channel owned by the MTV Entertainment Group unit of ViacomCBS Domestic Media Networks. The network's headquarters are located at the Paramount Pictures studio lot in Los Angeles.
Sky Cinema is a British subscription film service owned by Sky Group. In the United Kingdom, Sky Cinema channels currently broadcast on the Sky satellite and Virgin Media cable platforms, and in addition Sky Cinema on demand content are available through these as well as via Now TV, BT TV and TalkTalk TV.
Comedy Central is a British pay television channel that carries comedy programming, both original and syndicated. This channel is specific to audiences within the United Kingdom and Ireland. The channel is aligned with the original US version of the channel. The channel started as The Paramount Channel in 1995, before rebranding as the Paramount Comedy Channel in 1997 and again as Paramount Comedy 1 in 2004 before finally becoming Comedy Central on 6 April 2009.
Nickelodeon is a pay television network based in the United Kingdom and Ireland aimed at children, it is operated under a joint venture between ViacomCBS Networks UK & Australia and Sky Group.
5Star is a British free-to-air television channel owned by ViacomCBS Networks UK & Australia. It originally launched as the female-orientated Five Life on 15 October 2006, and was rebranded as Fiver on 28 April 2008 with a revised version of the same concept. The channel later re-branded as 5* on 7 March 2011, and later to its current name on 11 February 2016.
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.
DMAX is a British free-to-air male-oriented TV channel in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Discovery launched the channel in the UK and Ireland market on 8 January 2008 after its initial success in Germany.
True Entertainment was a former British free-to-air television channel that was launched on 3 August 2009, replacing Showcase TV. The change was originally scheduled to happen on 1 July 2009, but a late change put the change "on hold until further notice". Whilst the bulk of its programming were movies, similar to sister channels True Movies 1 and True Movies 2, the channel aimed to establish itself as a general entertainment channel.
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.
Viva was a British free-to-air music television channel owned by Viacom International Media Networks Europe. The channel launched on 26 October 2009, replacing TMF, and ceased broadcasting on 31 January 2018.
CBS Justice is a British free-to-air television channel specialising in action film, drama and murder-mysteries programs, launched in the UK and Ireland on 16 November 2009.
MTV is a British pay television channel focusing on reality TV and music programming operated by ViacomCBS Networks UK & Australia.
Channel 5 is a British free-to-air television network launched in 1997. It is the fifth national terrestrial channel in the United Kingdom and is owned by Channel 5 Broadcasting Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of American media conglomerate ViacomCBS, which is grouped under ViacomCBS Networks UK & Australia division.
CBS Reality is a British free-to-air television channel which is broadcast in the UK, the Middle East, and Africa.
5Spike was a British free-to-air television channel owned by ViacomCBS Networks UK & Australia. Launching on 15 April 2015 on Freeview, it was a multiplex channel of Channel 5 and localised version of the American cable channel Spike. It primarily aired entertainment programmes, including action and drama series, police documentaries, and programming from its U.S. counterpart, as well as mixed martial arts.
Paramount Network is a brand of several television channels operated by ViacomCBS Networks International that showcase the Paramount Pictures film catalogue, and selected TV series from ViacomCBS' television productions. The channel was first launched in Spain on March 30, 2012, and in the years since, the channel has operated in a number of territories across Europe, Latin America and Asia. It was formerly known as the Paramount Channel.
Great! Movies Action is a British free-to-air TV channel owned by Narrative Entertainment UK Limited which launched as Sony Movies Action on 10 September 2019 on Freeview, Freesat, Sky and Virgin. Sony Movies Action replaced Movies4Men, which was dedicated to showing action, war and western movies as well as showing classic action television series. However, apart from a few 5 minute shorts Great! Movies Action is now devoted to showing films.
