Sky Real Lives was an

in-house Outsourcing is an agreement in which one company hires another company to be responsible for a planned or existing activity which otherwise is or could be carried out internally, i.e. in-house, and sometimes involves transferring employees and ...

channel from

BSkyB Sky UK Limited is a British broadcaster and telecommunications company that provides television and broadband Internet services, fixed line and mobile telephone services to consumers and businesses in the United Kingdom. It is a subsidiary of ...

that showed extensive programmes about travel, adverts for travel agencies and documentaries. The channels closed on 19 August 2010.

History

Sky Real Lives first launched as Sky Travel on 3 October 1994, and became part of the

Sky Multichannels Sky Multichannels was a package of analogue television services offered by BSkyB on the Astra satellites at 19.2° east from 1 September 1993 to 27 September 2001, which started off with 15 channels before expanding to over 40. History Over ...

package. It originally broadcast between Monday and Thursday between midday and midnight and on Friday between 12pm and 6am until September 1997. In 2001, the channel started broadcasting 7 days a week from 6am until 11pm. The channel was revamped in September 2002. Sky Travel launched with

Freeview Freeview may refer to: * Freeview (Australia), the marketing name for the digital terrestrial television platform in Australia * Freeview (New Zealand), a digital satellite and digital terrestrial television platform in New Zealand *Freeview (UK), ...

on 30 October 2002, along with

Sky News Sky News is a British free-to-air television news channel and organisation. Sky News is distributed via an English-language radio news service, and through online channels. It is owned by Sky Group, a division of Comcast. John Ryley is the hea ...

and

Sky Sports News Sky Sports News (SSN) is a British pay television, paid television sports news channel run by Sky Limited, Sky, a division of Comcast. History Since 1992, Sky Sports had broadcast sports news, initially a brief ''Football Update'' and lat ...

. In February 2003, a spin-off of the channels, Sky Travel Shop, launched a dedicated travel retail channel in the Specialist, then Shopping section of the

EPG Electronic programming guides (EPGs) and interactive programming guides (IPGs) are menu-based systems that provide users of television, radio and other media applications with continuously updated menus that display scheduling information for ...

. In September 2003 both channels were launched on the NTL platform. With increased distribution, Sky Travel changed its programming strategy to attract a wider audience, skewing towards stronger entertainment programs with a travel theme, particularly reality shows. By August 2004, the core channel was broadcasting 24 hours a day and in January 2005, a timeshifted version of Sky Travel was launched. In October 2005, Sky Travel on Freeview was replaced by

Sky Three Pick (formerly Sky 3 and Pick TV) is a British free-to-air television channel, owned by Sky UK. History Sky Three launched on 31st October 2005. It was essentially a barker channel for Sky's main entertainment channel Sky One and its other s ...

and on 6 March 2006, the Sky Travel channels were moved from the "Entertainment" section on the Sky EPG, to the "Lifestyle and Culture" section. In August 2006, Sky Travel began showing reality TV, whilst Sky Travel Extra dedicated its airtime to documentaries Sky Real Lives 2, the replacement channel for Sky Travel Extra, gained additional broadcast hours from its launch. From 2002 until 2007, Sky Real Lives 2 only aired from 6am until 1am. However, on 7 November, the channel began 24-hour broadcasts. Sky Real Lives programmes were showcased on Sky's main channels; Sky1, Sky2, but mostly on its

free-to-air Free-to-air (FTA) services are television (TV) and radio services broadcast in unencrypted form, allowing any person with the FTA Receiver, appropriate receiving equipment to receive the signal and view or listen to the content without requiring ...

sister channel, Sky3 (now known as Pick).

Changes on Freeview

In 2004, Sky Travel showed the first two episodes of the fourth season of US drama '' 24'',

simulcast Simulcast (a portmanteau of simultaneous broadcast) is the broadcasting of programmes/programs or events across more than one resolution, bitrate or medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at exactly the same time (that is, simultane ...

ing with Sky's primary channel,

Sky One Sky One was a British pay television channel operated and owned by Sky Group (a division of Comcast). Originally launched on 26 April 1982 as Satellite Television, it was Europe's first satellite and non-terrestrial channel. From 31 July 1989, ...

. This led to rumours that the company had planned to turn Sky Travel into a general entertainment channel on

. However, BSkyB's CEO,

James Murdoch James Rupert Jacob Murdoch (born 13 December 1972) is a British-American businessman, the younger son of media mogul Rupert Murdoch, and was the chief executive officer (CEO) of 21st Century Fox from 2015 to 2019. He was the chairman and CEO fo ...

, had repeatedly denied the company had any plans to launch any new free-to-air services. BSkyB's stance on the subject has since changed. On 22 September 2005, it was announced that Sky Travel would be replaced on Freeview by new entertainment channel

. Although some of Sky Travel's programming will form part of the schedule of Sky Three, Sky Travel itself will still be shown on Sky Digital. Sky Travel ceased to be broadcast on Freeview at 5pm on 31 October 2005.

Sky Travel relaunches as Sky Real Lives

On 17 September 2007, Sky announced plans to rebrand Sky Travel to Sky Real Lives from 7 November 2007. The new channel focused on programmes with a

human interest story In journalism, a human-interest story is a feature story that discusses people or pets in an emotional way. It presents people and their problems, concerns, or achievements in a way that brings about interest, sympathy or motivation in the reader o ...

and was targeted more at women in the 35–54 age range. Sky's managing director of entertainment

Sophie Turner Laing Sophie Henrietta Turner Laing, (born 7 September 1960) is a British businesswoman and media executive. She was chief executive officer of global content creator, producer and distributor Endemol Shine Group from December 2014 until July 2020. ...

said it seems that the channel would be given a "whole new makeover" that would make it more entertainment oriented. On 7 November, the following channels were changed: Sky Travel was renamed as Sky Real Lives, Sky Travel +1 was renamed Sky Real Lives +1, Sky Travel Extra renamed to Sky Real Lives 2, and Sky Travel Shop was also renamed to Sky Travel. Sky Real Lives, Sky Real Lives 2, Sky Arts 1 and Sky Arts 2 were launched on

UPC Ireland Virgin Media Ireland is Liberty Global's telecommunications operation in Ireland. It is the largest digital cable television provider within the country. As of 31 December 2014, the company offers broadband internet, digital television and d ...

, before being removed on 8 December 2008.

Closure

On 16 June 2010, it was announced that Sky Real Lives, and its portfolio of channels would close on 19 August 2010, with the channels budget shifting to Sky1 and Sky2. Sky Real Lives closed at midnight on 19 August 2010.

Programming

* 24 Hours in Soho *

Airline An airline is a company that provides civil aviation, air transport services for traveling passengers and freight. Airlines use aircraft to supply these services and may form partnerships or Airline alliance, alliances with other airlines for ...

* Air Rage *

A Life Without Pain ''A Life Without Pain'' is a 2005 documentary film by Melody Gilbert about children who can't feel pain. Plot synopsis The film explores the daily lives of three children with Congenital insensitivity to pain, a rare genetic disorder shared by j ...

* America's Fattest City *

A Mother Like Alex A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes'' ...

Babies At Risk An infant or baby is the very young offspring of human beings. ''Infant'' (from the Latin word ''infans'', meaning 'unable to speak' or 'speechless') is a formal or specialised synonym for the common term ''baby''. The terms may also be used to ...

Baby Race An infant or baby is the very young offspring of human beings. ''Infant'' (from the Latin word ''infans'', meaning 'unable to speak' or 'speechless') is a formal or specialised synonym for the common term ''baby''. The terms may also be used to ...

*Bad Behaviour *

Beat the Bailiff Beat, beats or beating may refer to: Common uses * Patrol, or beat, a group of personnel assigned to monitor a specific area ** Beat (police), the territory that a police officer patrols ** Gay beat, an area frequented by gay men * Battery ...

The Biggest Loser ''The Biggest Loser'' is a reality television format which started with the American TV show ''The Biggest Loser'' in 2004. The show centers on overweight and obese contestants attempting to lose the most weight; the winner receives a cash prize. ...

* Bombs, Brits and Cheerleaders *

Brain Doctors A brain is an organ that serves as the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals. It is located in the head, usually close to the sensory organs for senses such as vision. It is the most complex organ in a ve ...

Club Reps ''Club Reps'' is a factual entertainment programme made for ITV by STV Studios (''then known as "SMG TV Productions"''). It ran from 2001 to 2004. The programme has been repeated on Sky Real Lives, Pick and STV local channels STV Edinburgh ...

Coach Trip ''Coach Trip'' is a British reality game show originally broadcast on Channel 4 from 7 March 2005 to 30 June 2006. The programme returned after a three-year break, from 25 May 2009 to 9 March 2012. In early 2013, the show went into hiatus agai ...

Crime Scene A crime scene is any location that may be associated with a committed crime. Crime scenes contain physical evidence that is pertinent to a criminal investigation. This evidence is collected by crime scene investigators (CSI) and law enforcement ...

* Crippendales * Customs UK * Dying to Be Apart *

Extreme Lives Extreme may refer to: Science and mathematics Mathematics *Extreme point, a point in a convex set which does not lie in any open line segment joining two points in the set *Maxima and minima, extremes on a mathematical function Science *Extremop ...

* Grimebusters Series 1: 2007 6x24' Series 2: 2008 10x24' * HD Short Films * Holiday Airline * How Long Will You Live? * Ian Wright's Unfit Kids * Intervention * Jodie Kidd's Fashion Avenue *

The Lion Man ''The Lion Man'' is a New Zealand television documentary series about a New Zealand big cat park called Zion Wildlife Gardens. The series was named after Craig Busch, the park's founder, who had styled himself as "the Lion Man". The series foll ...

* London Ambulance Series 1: 2007 6x24' Series 2: 2008 6x24' * Love Behind Bars *

Luton Airport London Luton Airport is an international airport located in Luton, Bedfordshire, England, situated east of the town centre, and north of Central London. The airport is owned by London Luton Airport Ltd (LLAL), a company wholly owned by L ...

* Masterminds * Petnapped *

Phobia A phobia is an anxiety disorder defined by a persistent and excessive fear of an object or situation. Phobias typically result in a rapid onset of fear and are usually present for more than six months. Those affected go to great lengths to avo ...

Polygamous Wives Crimes Polygamy (from Late Greek (') "state of marriage to many spouses") is the practice of marriage, marrying multiple spouses. When a man is married to more than one wife at the same time, sociologists call this polygyny. When a woman is ...

Psychic Detectives A psychic detective is a person who investigates crimes by using purported paranormal psychic abilities. Examples have included postcognition (the paranormal perception of the past), psychometry (information psychically gained from objects), ...

Quintuplets ''Quintuplets'' is an American sitcom that aired 22 episodes on Fox from June 16, 2004 to January 12, 2005. The program starred Andy Richter and Rebecca Creskoff and shared some of their experiences parenting teenage quintuplets. Synopsis The ...

* Real A&E * Redcoats *

Real Life Stories Real may refer to: Currencies * Brazilian real (R$) * Central American Republic real * Mexican real * Portuguese real * Spanish real * Spanish colonial real Music Albums * ''Real'' (L'Arc-en-Ciel album) (2000) * ''Real'' (Bright album) (2010 ...

*Risky Business * Searching For My Son *

Secrets Revealed - DNA Stories Secrecy is the practice of hiding information from certain individuals or groups who do not have the "need to know", perhaps while sharing it with other individuals. That which is kept hidden is known as the secret. Secrecy is often controvers ...

Sky Travel Sky Travel was first launched on 3 October 1994 (and later in 2003 relaunched as Sky Travel Shop) and showed extensive programmes about travel, adverts for travel agencies, and documentaries, with Sky Travel Shop being the adverts for travel ag ...

Suicide In The Air Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...

* Swapped Children * Taken Away * Teenage Gamblers * Terry Gee: Living With HIV * The Clinic * The Filth Files *

The Little Couple ''The Little Couple'' is an American reality television series on TLC that debuted May 26, 2009. The series features Bill Klein, a businessman, and Dr. Jennifer Arnold a neonatologist, who both have skeletal dysplasia. Arnold is 96.5 cm (3'2" ...

The Man Who Faked His Life ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

* The Zoo UK * Ultra Tall: Jabe Babe * Vanity Insanity * Vain Men * Wakey Wakey Campers * Wildlife Detectives *Women Behind Bars * X-Weighted *

Zoo Story ''The Zoo Story'' is a one-act play by American playwright Edward Albee. His first play, it was written in 1958 and completed in just three weeks. The play explores themes of isolation, loneliness, miscommunication as anathematization, social ...

* Zoo Vets at Large

Sky Real Lives HD

A high-definition version of the channel was launched on

Sky+ HD Sky+ HD was the brand name of the High-definition television, HDTV service launched by Sky plc on 22 May 2006 in the United Kingdom and Ireland to enable high definition channels on Sky (UK and Ireland), Sky to be viewed. For the first two ...

on 20 October 2008, on channel 278.

References

External links

Sky Real Lives
at sky.com
Sky Travel
at sky.com {{BSkyB Sky television channels Television channels and stations established in 1994 Television channels and stations disestablished in 2010 Defunct British television channels