ITV Encore was a British drama

pay television Pay television, also known as subscription television, premium television or, when referring to an individual service, a premium channel, refers to Subscription business model, subscription-based television services, usually provided by multichan ...

channel in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

that was owned by ITV Digital Channels Ltd, a division of

ITV plc ITV plc is a British media company that holds 13 of the 15 regional television licences that make up the ITV network (Channel 3), the oldest and largest commercial terrestrial television network in the United Kingdom. ITV plc is listed on the ...

. The channel was exclusive to

Sky The sky is an unobstructed view upward from the surface of the Earth. It includes the atmosphere and outer space. It may also be considered a place between the ground and outer space, thus distinct from outer space. In the field of astronomy, ...

's digital satellite platform,

Sky Go Sky Go is a streaming television service from Sky Group provided free for Sky TV subscribers in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, it complements Sky TV by allowing subscribers to watch live and on demand Sky TV via an internet connec ...

Now TV Now most commonly refers to the present time. Now, NOW, or The Now may also refer to: Organizations * Natal Organisation of Women, a South African women's organization * National Organization for Women, an American feminist organization * No ...

, and

Sky Store Sky Store is a service operated by Sky Group in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany, Austria and Switzerland that offers movies and TV shows via video streaming or DVD and Blu-ray Disc by mail. It originally launched in 2012 by Sky UK offering ov ...

. The channel closed on 1 May 2018, becoming an on-demand only service available on other platforms as well as Sky.

History

Launch

ITV Encore launched at 7pm on 9 June 2014. The first programme to be shown on the channel was an episode of ''

Agatha Christie's Poirot ''Poirot'' (also known as ''Agatha Christie's Poirot'') is a British mystery drama television programme that aired on ITV from 8 January 1989 to 13 November 2013. David Suchet starred as the eponymous detective, Agatha Christie's fictional Her ...

'' which was also the final programme. The channel was ITV's first new channel launch in over eight years, and formed part of a wider four-year

partnership A partnership is an arrangement where parties, known as business partners, agree to cooperate to advance their mutual interests. The partners in a partnership may be individuals, businesses, interest-based organizations, schools, governments o ...

with Sky - ITV's largest ever with a platform operator. It was also the first ITV-branded subscription channel since

ITV Sport Channel ITV Sport Channel was a short-lived digital sport television channel, that was owned by Carlton Communications and Granada plc. It was launched on 11 August 2001 and closed on 12 May 2002, precipitating ITV Digital's collapse over a month late ...

closed down in 2002.

ITV Encore +1

A one-hour timeshifted mirror of ITV Encore launched alongside the parent channel, broadcast on Sky channel 193 (a channel slot ITV had acquired from the Information TV group). ITV Encore +1 temporarily closed on 1 October 2014 (ITV3 +1 took its old slot), to make space for

ITVBe ITVBe, stylized as itvBe, is a British free-to-air television channel owned by ITV Digital Channels, a division of ITV plc. The channel was first announced on 12 February 2014 and launched on 8 October 2014. ITVBe broadcasts reality and unscri ...

, which launched on channel 179. ITV Encore +1 was re-added to the channel lineup on 15 December 2014 on channel 208, the same day ITVBe +1 was added to the Sky and Freesat platforms. It moved to channel 268 on 1 August 2017, a slot previously taken by ITV4 HD, as part of a reshuffling which included ITVBe moving to channel 149, a slot they had acquired from

AMC Networks International Zone AMC Networks International UK (EMEA) (formerly AMC Networks International Zone (EMEA), Chello Zone, Zone Vision and Zone Media) is a London, UK-based television company, founded in 1991 by Chris Wronski and owned by AMC Networks International. H ...

ITV Encore HD

A high-definition service also launched on Sky channel 298, on the same day as ITV Encore. It broadcasts ITV dramas in high-definition. ITV Encore HD moved to Sky channel 263 on 19 August 2014, following more spaces in the Entertainment genre to be added, and the Lifestyle genre being shortened. On 15 December 2014, it moved again to Sky channel 269, to make space for ITVBe +1 and ITV Encore +1 (as ITV3 HD took its old place). It moved back to channel 263 on 1 August 2017, with

CBS Drama RealityXtra (formerly CBS Drama) is a British free-to-air television channel that centres its programming on American television shows produced by CBS. It is the sister channel of CBS Reality and is owned in partnership by AMC Networks and Para ...

taking its old place.

Closure

It was confirmed by an ITV spokesperson in November 2017 that the linear television service ITV Encore would close in Spring 2018. ITV Encore closed at midnight on 1 May 2018 as part of Sky's major EPG reshuffle. The last programme shown on the channel was ''

'' The Plymouth Express. Its Sky EPG slot was taken by

Sky Two Sky Replay is a British pay television channel operated by Sky as a sister channel to Sky Max and Sky Witness. The current channel began broadcasting (as Sky One Mix) in December 2002. The 'Sky 2' name and format had earlier been used for a sim ...

Former Programming

ITV Encore broadcast some of ITV's most successful drama series of recent years. Since January 2015, ITV Encore also showed original drama, commissioned for the channel. This move was to attract new viewers to the channel, and to the Sky TV platform.

First-run

*''

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'' (2015–2018) *''

The Americans ''The Americans'' is an American historical drama, period spy fiction, spy drama television series created by Joe Weisberg that aired on the FX (TV channel), FX television network for six seasons from January 30, 2013, to May 30, 2018. Weisberg ...

'' (2015–2018; shown on

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

from 2013–2014) *''

Ängelby ''Ängelby'' is a Sweden, Swedish television drama series created by Johan Kindblom and Tomas Tivemark, first broadcast by Sveriges Television, SVT in 2015. The series, which premiered on 28 September 2015 on SVT1 and was broadcast on ITV Encore i ...

'' (2016–2018)

Original commissions

*''

The Frankenstein Chronicles ''The Frankenstein Chronicles'' is a British television period crime drama series that first aired on ITV Encore on 11 November 2015, designed as a re-imagining of Mary Shelley's 1818 novel ''Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus''. Lead actor ...

'' (2015–2018) *''

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'' (2017–2018) *''

Houdini & Doyle ''Houdini & Doyle'' is a British television drama series loosely based on the real-world friendship of Harry Houdini and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. A 10-episode first season was ordered by Fox in the United States, ITV in the United Kingdom, and ...

'' (2016)

Other shows

Always And Everyone ''Always and Everyone'' (later known as ''A&E'') is a British television medical drama, broadcast on ITV, that ran for four series between 7 June 1999 and 22 August 2002. Set in the Accident and Emergency department of Saint Victor's city hospi ...

*''

'' *'' Brief Encounters'' *'' Heartbeat'' *''

Peak Practice ''Peak Practice'' is a British drama series about a GP surgery in Cardale—a small fictional town in the Derbyshire Peak District—and the doctors who worked there. It ran on ITV from 10 May 1993 to 30 January 2002 and was one of their most ...

'' * The Chief *''

The Ruth Rendell Mysteries ''The Ruth Rendell Mysteries'' is a British television crime drama series, produced by TVS and later by its successor Meridian Broadcasting, in association with Blue Heaven Productions, for broadcast on the ITV network. Twelve series were broa ...

'' *'' Vera''

References

{{Media in the United Kingdom, television ITV television channels Defunct British television channels Television channels and stations established in 2014 Television channels and stations disestablished in 2018 Television channels in the United Kingdom 2014 establishments in the United Kingdom 2018 disestablishments in the United Kingdom