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Sky One was a British
pay television Pay television, also known as subscription television, premium television or, when referring to an individual service, a premium channel, refers to subscription-based television services, usually provided by multichannel television providers, b ...
channel operated and owned by
Sky Group Sky Group Limited is a British media and telecommunications conglomerate, which is a division of Comcast, and headquartered in London. It has operations in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Italy. Sky is Europe' ...
(a division of
Comcast Comcast Corporation (formerly known as American Cable Systems and Comcast Holdings),Before the AT&T merger in 2001, the parent company was Comcast Holdings Corporation. Comcast Holdings Corporation now refers to a subsidiary of Comcast Corpora ...
). Originally launched on 26 April 1982 as
Satellite Television Satellite television is a service that delivers television programming to viewers by relaying it from a communications satellite orbiting the Earth directly to the viewer's location. The signals are received via an outdoor parabolic antenna com ...
, it was Europe's first
satellite A satellite or artificial satellite is an object intentionally placed into orbit in outer space. Except for passive satellites, most satellites have an electricity generation system for equipment on board, such as solar panels or radioiso ...
and non- terrestrial channel. From 31 July 1989, it became Sky One and broadcast exclusively in the United Kingdom and Ireland as British Sky Broadcasting's flagship channel, being the most watched television service in history. It existed until 1 September 2021, when it closed down as part of a restructuring with its EPG position taken by Sky Showcase and much of its content library moved to Sky Max. Sky One included some very popular broadcasts both the original programmes such as ''
An Idiot Abroad ''An Idiot Abroad'' is a British travel documentary comedy television series broadcast on Sky One, as well as a series of companion books published by Canongate Books, created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant and starring Karl Pilkington. ...
'', '' Brainiac: Science Abuse'', ''
The Russell Howard Hour ''The Russell Howard Hour'' is a British topical comedy news show, which airs on Sky Max (formerly Sky One) and is hosted by Russell Howard where he gives his thoughts and opinions on current topics as well as featuring special guests and other ...
'', '' Battlestar Galactica'', and many imported from North America – including: '' 24'' (seasons 3–9, and its spinoff '' Live Another Day''), '' X-files'', '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'', ''
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine ''Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' (abbreviated as ''DS9'') is an American science fiction television series created by Rick Berman and Michael Piller. The fourth series in the ''Star Trek'' media franchise, it originally aired in syndication from ...
'', '' Star Trek: Voyager'', '' Bones'' (seasons 1–6, first half), ''
Caprica ''Caprica'' is an American science fiction drama television series. A spin-off prequel of the re-imagined ''Battlestar Galactica'' (2004), Caprica is set 58 years before the main series. ''Caprica'' shows how humanity first created the Cylon a ...
'', '' Fringe'', '' Modern Family'', '' Glee'' (seasons 3–6), '' House'' (seasons 5–8), '' Lie to Me'', ''
Lost Lost may refer to getting lost, or to: Geography * Lost, Aberdeenshire, a hamlet in Scotland *Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail, or LOST, a hiking and cycling trail in Florida, US History *Abbreviation of lost work, any work which is known to have bee ...
'' (seasons 3–6), ''
Prison Break ''Prison Break'' is an American serial drama television series created by Paul Scheuring for Fox. The series revolves around two brothers, Lincoln Burrows (Dominic Purcell) and Michael Scofield ( Wentworth Miller); Burrows has been sentenced ...
'' (seasons 3–4), ''
The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, ...
'', ''
Stargate ''Stargate'' (often stylized in all caps) is a military science fiction media franchise based on the film directed by Roland Emmerich, which he co-wrote with producer Dean Devlin. The franchise is based on the idea of an alien Einstein–Rosen ...
'' ('' SG-1'', '' Atlantis'' and ''
Universe The universe is all of space and time and their contents, including planets, stars, galaxies, and all other forms of matter and energy. The Big Bang theory is the prevailing cosmological description of the development of the univers ...
''), '' Touch'', '' About a Boy'', '' The Middle'', '' Manifest'', '' You, Me and the Apocalypse'' and '' The Blacklist''. Other American imports included CBS military/action dramas, science-fiction and Arrowverse superhero shows and '' The Blacklist'' (seasons 4–8).


History


1982–1984: Satellite Television

Sky One started on 26 April 1982 as Satellite Television Limited, and was Europe's first ever cable and satellite channel, originally broadcasting from the
Orbital Test Satellite The Orbital Test Satellite (OTS) programme was an experimental satellite system inherited by the European Space Agency (ESA) in 1975 from its predecessor, the European Space Research Organisation (ESRO). OTS was the first three-axis-stabilised ...
aimed at cable operators all over the continent. At first, the station struggled financially due to disappointing ratings in the countries in which it was officially available, which in turn led to insufficient advertising revenue and increasing difficulty in covering the high transmission costs. Initially, the channel's own programming and continuity was played out from the Molinare studios at Fouberts Place in the
West End of London The West End of London (commonly referred to as the West End) is a district of Central London, west of the City of London and north of the River Thames, in which many of the city's major tourist attractions, shops, businesses, government build ...
. On 27 June 1983, the shareholders of Satellite Television agreed a £5 million offer to give
News International News Corp UK & Ireland Limited (trading as News UK, formerly News International and NI Group) is a British newspaper publisher, and a wholly owned subsidiary of the American mass media conglomerate News Corp. It is the current publisher of ...
65% of the company.
Rupert Murdoch Keith Rupert Murdoch ( ; born 11 March 1931) is an Australian-born American business magnate. Through his company News Corp, he is the owner of hundreds of local, national, and international publishing outlets around the world, including ...
extended the broadcast hours and the number of countries the station broadcast to including the United Kingdom on 16 October of that year.


1984–1989: Sky Channel

On 16 January 1984, Satellite Television Limited was renamed Sky Channel, incorporating a large number of American imports in its schedules also increased the quantity produced of home grown programmes, including a number of new music shows with
Gary Davies Gary Davies (born 13 December 1957) is a British broadcaster. From 1982 to 1993 he was a BBC Radio 1 disc jockey and a regular presenter of ''Top of the Pops''. As of September 2022 Gary Davies can be heard on BBC Radio 2 presenting Saturda ...
,
Tony Blackburn Anthony Kenneth Blackburn (born 29 January 1943) is an English disc jockey, singer and TV presenter. He first achieved fame broadcasting on the pirate stations Radio Caroline and Radio London in the 1960s, before joining the BBC, on the BBC ...
,
Linda de Mol Linda Margaretha de Mol (born 8 July 1964 in Hilversum) is a successful Dutch television presenter and actress in the Netherlands and Germany. She is the sister of TV-producer and Endemol co-founder John de Mol, and has frequently appeared in p ...
,
Pat Sharp Patrick Sharpin, known professionally as Pat Sharp (born 25 October 1961), is an English radio presenter, television presenter and DJ. In the UK, he is known mainly for his work on the children's ITV programme '' Fun House'', and his extens ...
,
David "Kid" Jensen David Allan "Kid" Jensen (born 4 July 1950) is a Canadian-born British radio DJ and television presenter. Born in Victoria, British Columbia, Jensen began as a radio DJ on Radio Luxembourg. Jensen was later a broadcaster for the BBC from 1976 ...
, and
Anthea Turner Anthea Turner (born 25 May 1960) is an English former television presenter. She was a host of ''Blue Peter'' from 1992 until 1994, and of ''GMTV'' from 1994 until 1996. Early life Turner was born in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, and educated ...
presenting programmes such as ''Euro Top 40'', and ''UK Top 50 Chart''. New children's programmes like '' Fun Factory'' and ''
The DJ Kat Show ''The DJ Kat show'' was a children's television programme presented by the puppet DJ Kat and his friend Linda de Mol, the sister of Endemol founder John de Mol, which ran from 1 September 1986 to 31 December 1995. The show was first broadcast t ...
'', many of which came not only from Sky's own studios in London (Sky having already abandoned the Molinare facilities by then), but also included programmes produced in the Netherlands by
John de Mol Johannes Hendrikus Hubert "John" de Mol Jr. (born 24 April 1955) is a Dutch Mass media, media Business magnate, tycoon. De Mol is one of the men behind production companies Endemol and Talpa Network, Talpa. He created the reality television form ...
's
production company A production company, production house, production studio, or a production team is a studio that creates works in the fields of performing arts, new media art, film, television, radio, comics, interactive arts, video games, websites, music, and v ...
. On 8 June 1988, Murdoch announced his plans to expand Sky's four channels, thus creating the Sky Television Network. On 5 February 1989, the service (Sky Channel,
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 he ...
,
Sky Movies Sky Cinema is a British subscription film service owned by Sky Group (a division of Comcast). In the United Kingdom, Sky Cinema channels currently broadcast on the Sky satellite and Virgin Media cable platforms, and in addition Sky Cinema ...
and
Eurosport Eurosport is a group of pay television networks in Europe and parts of Asia. Owned by Warner Bros. Discovery through its international sports unit, it operates two main channels— Eurosport 1 and Eurosport 2—across most of its territorie ...
) was launched as prime-time broadcasts to European cable operators ended and were replaced by Eurosport, a joint venture between Sky and the
European Broadcasting Union The European Broadcasting Union (EBU; french: Union européenne de radio-télévision, links=no, UER) is an alliance of public service media organisations whose countries are within the European Broadcasting Area or who are members of the C ...
aimed at a
pan-European Pan-European can refer to: * Pan-European identity * Pan-European corridors ** Pan-European Corridor X ** Pan-European Corridor Xa * Pan European Game Information * Pan-European Institute * Pan-European nationalism * Pan-European Oil Pipeli ...
audience (like Sky Channel had been up to that point for a time afterwards, some of Sky's previous pan-European programming continued to be broadcast before Eurosport's start-up, under the branding of ''Sky Europe''). A new raft of shows were created for the channel, including the daily talent show ''Sky Star Search''; game shows (''
Sale of the Century ''Sale of the Century'' (stylized as ''$ale of the Century'') is an American television game show that originally debuted on September 29, 1969, on NBC daytime. It was one of three NBC game shows to premiere on that date, the other two being th ...
'', based on the 1980s American version, and ''
The Price Is Right ''The Price Is Right'' is a television game show franchise created by Bob Stewart, originally produced by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman; currently it is produced and owned by Fremantle. The franchise centers on television game shows, but also inc ...
''); weekly documentary series '' Frank Bough's World''; daily late night talk show ''Jameson Tonight''; agony aunt advice show ''A Problem Shared''; and ''Sky by Day'', Sky TV's variation on ITV's more popular '' This Morning'', hosted by former
BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance ...
DJ Tony Blackburn (who by then had moved to commercial radio) and former ''
Magpie Magpies are birds of the Corvidae family. Like other members of their family, they are widely considered to be intelligent creatures. The Eurasian magpie, for instance, is thought to rank among the world's most intelligent creatures, and is on ...
'' presenter
Jenny Hanley Jenny Hanley (born 15 August 1947) is an English actress. She remains best known for being one of the presenters of the ITV children's magazine programme ''Magpie''. Early life and education Hanley is the daughter of actors Dinah Sheridan and ...
, as the show aired a mix of entertainment, gossip and fashion. The "New Sky Channel", as it was dubbed in on-air promotion prior to its 5 February 1989 launch, continued to broadcast its signature children's programmes ''The DJ Kat Show'' and ''Fun Factory'', and expanded its early afternoon daytime programming with five back-to-back soaps (''
The Sullivans ''The Sullivans'' is an Australian period drama television series produced by Crawford Productions which ran on the Nine Network from 15 November 1976 until 10 March 1983. The series tells the story of a fictional average middle-cla ...
'', '' Another World'', ''
General Hospital ''General Hospital'' (often abbreviated as ''GH'') is an American daytime television soap opera. It is listed in ''Guinness World Records'' as the longest-running American soap opera in production, and the second in American history after '' ...
'', ''
As the World Turns ''As the World Turns'' (often abbreviated as ''ATWT'') is an American television soap opera that aired on CBS for 54 years from April 2, 1956, to September 17, 2010. Irna Phillips created ''As the World Turns'' as a sister show to her other s ...
'' and ''
Loving Loving may refer to: * Love, a range of human emotions * Loving (surname) * ''Loving v. Virginia'', a 1967 landmark United States Supreme Court civil rights case Film and television * Loving (1970 film), ''Loving'' (1970 film), an American fi ...
'') while reducing music programming to only one or two hours per day. Classic sitcoms (''
The Lucy Show ''The Lucy Show'' is an American sitcom that aired on CBS from 1962 to 1968. It was Lucille Ball's follow-up to '' I Love Lucy''. A significant change in cast and premise for the fourth season (1965–1966) divides the program into two distin ...
'' and ''
Family Affair ''Family Affair'' is an American sitcom starring Brian Keith and Sebastian Cabot that aired on CBS from September 12, 1966, to March 4, 1971. The series explored the trials of well-to-do engineer and bachelor Bill Davis (Keith) as he attemp ...
'') and more recent comedies (''
Three's Company ''Three's Company'' is an American sitcom television series that aired for eight seasons on ABC from March 15, 1977, to September 18, 1984. It is based on the British sitcom '' Man About the House''. The story revolves around three single room ...
'' and ''
Family Ties ''Family Ties'' is an American sitcom television series that aired on NBC for seven seasons, premiering on September 22, 1982, and concluding on May 14, 1989. The series, created by Gary David Goldberg, reflected the move in the United States ...
'') as well as put on the schedule along with dramas (''
The Streets of San Francisco ''The Streets of San Francisco'' is a television crime drama filmed on location in San Francisco and produced by Quinn Martin Productions, with the first season produced in association with Warner Bros. Television (QM produced the show on its ...
'', ''
Trapper John, M.D. ''Trapper John, M.D.'' is an American medical drama television series and spin-off of the film ''M*A*S*H'' (1970). Pernell Roberts portrayed the title character, a lovable surgeon who became a mentor and father figure in San Francisco, Californ ...
'', ''
Emergency! ''Emergency!'' is an American action-adventure medical drama television series jointly produced by Mark VII Limited and Universal Television. Debuting on NBC as a midseason replacement on January 15, 1972, replacing the two short-lived situa ...
'', ''
The Love Boat ''The Love Boat'' is an American romantic comedy/drama television series that aired on ABC from 1977 to 1986; in addition, four three-hour specials aired in 1986, 1987, and 1990. The series was set on the luxury passenger cruise ship MS ''Pa ...
'', ''
Fantasy Island ''Fantasy Island'' is an American fantasy drama television series created by Gene Levitt. It aired on ABC from 1977 to 1984. The series starred Ricardo Montalbán as the mysterious Mr. Roarke and Hervé Villechaize as his assistant, Tatto ...
'', '' Voyagers!'' and ''
Eight Is Enough ''Eight Is Enough'' is an American television comedy-drama series that ran on ABC from March 15, 1977, until May 23, 1981. The show was modeled on the life of syndicated newspaper columnist Tom Braden, a real-life parent with eight children, who ...
'') were included. Sky Channel also aired classic movies, made-for-TV movies and miniseries (beginning with ''
Spearfield's Daughter ''Spearfield's Daughter'' is a 1982 novel written by Australian author Jon Cleary. Adaptation The book was adapted into a 1986 Australian-Canadian mini series starring Christopher Plummer. Cleary's original scripts were rewritten and he describes ...
'' on its first night). Dolly Parton's recent variety show '' Dolly'', popular Australian science and technology show ''Beyond 2000'', the ''Nescafé UK Top 50'' chart show, Sunday morning religious programme '' Hour of Power'', hour-long weekend edition of celebrity news magazine ''
Entertainment Tonight ''Entertainment Tonight'' (or simply ''ET'') is an American first-run syndicated news broadcasting newsmagazine program that is distributed by CBS Media Ventures throughout the United States and owned by Paramount Streaming. ET also airs in Aus ...
'' and telecasts of
World Wrestling Federation World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and var ...
rounded out Sky Channel's weekend schedule. Special event programming included late night live telecasts of boxing matches and various music concerts (such as
Bon Jovi Bon Jovi is an American rock band formed in 1983 in Sayreville, New Jersey. It consists of singer Jon Bon Jovi, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, guitarist Phil X, and bassist Hugh McDonald. Original bassist Alec John such qu ...
and Bros in August 1989).


1989–2021: Sky One

On 31 July 1989, the channel was renamed Sky One and closed in most European countries, broadcasting only to the United Kingdom and Ireland. During September of that year, Sky One began to air more recent programming as an early success being ''
Moonlighting Moonlighting may refer to: * Side job, a job taken in addition to one's primary employment Entertainment * ''Moonlighting'' (film), a 1982 drama film by Jerzy Skolimowski * ''Moonlighting'' (TV series), 1985–1989 American television series, s ...
'' (which the BBC had previously screened but not repeated), '' ALF'' and '' Wiseguy'', also aired the British television premiere of a new drama series ''
21 Jump Street ''21 Jump Street'' is an American police procedural television series that aired on the Fox network and in first run syndication from April 12, 1987, to April 27, 1991, with a total of 103 episodes. The series focuses on a squad of youthful-loo ...
''. Back-to-back soaps ('' Rich Man, Poor Man'' and ''
Falcon Crest ''Falcon Crest'' is an American prime time television soap opera that aired for nine seasons on CBS from December 4, 1981, to May 17, 1990. The series revolves around the feuding factions of the wealthy Gioberti/Channing family in the California ...
'') as well as action shows (''
Riptide A rip tide, or riptide, is a strong offshore current that is caused by the tide pulling water through an inlet along a barrier beach, at a lagoon or inland marina where tide water flows steadily out to sea during ebb tide. It is a strong tidal flo ...
'' and ''
Hunter Hunting is the human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products (fur/hide (skin), hide, ...
'') were also added to its prime time schedule. A number of Australian drama series mainly include '' Against the Wind'', '' Boney'', ''
A Town Like Alice ''A Town Like Alice'' (United States title: ''The Legacy'') is a romance novel by Nevil Shute, published in 1950 when Shute had newly settled in Australia. Jean Paget, a young Englishwoman, becomes romantically interested in a fellow prisoner ...
'', ''
Barrier Reef A coral reef is an underwater ecosystem characterized by reef-building corals. Reefs are formed of colonies of coral polyps held together by calcium carbonate. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, whose polyps cluster in groups. ...
'', ''
Return to Eden ''Return to Eden'' is an Australian television drama series starring Rebecca Gilling, James Reyne, Wendy Hughes and James Smillie. It began as a three-part, six-hour mini-series shown on Network Ten on September 27–29, 1983. Gilling and Sm ...
'' and children's programmes such as '' Skippy the Bush Kangaroo'' also aired on Sky One. In 1990 and early 1991 (prior to the launch of
Sky Sports Sky Sports is a group of British subscription sports channels operated by the satellite pay television company Sky Group (a division of Comcast), and is the dominant subscription television sports brand in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It ...
), Sky One broadcast numerous live cricket telecasts during which it pre-empted its regularly scheduled programming. Following the merger with
British Satellite Broadcasting British Satellite Broadcasting (BSB) was a television company, headquartered in London, that provided direct broadcast satellite television services to the United Kingdom. They started broadcasting on 25 March 1990. The company was merged with ...
's
Galaxy A galaxy is a system of stars, stellar remnants, interstellar gas, dust, dark matter, bound together by gravity. The word is derived from the Greek ' (), literally 'milky', a reference to the Milky Way galaxy that contains the Solar System ...
on 2 November 1990, Sky One also picked up new sitcoms (''
Parker Lewis Can't Lose ''Parker Lewis Can't Lose'' is an American teen sitcom that originally aired on Fox from September 1990 to June 1993. It was produced by Clyde Phillips Productions in association with Columbia Pictures Television. During the last season, the s ...
'', ''
Growing Pains ''Growing Pains'' is an American television sitcom created by Neal Marlens that aired on ABC from September 24, 1985, to April 25, 1992. The show ran for seven seasons, consisting of 166 episodes. The series followed the misadventures of the ...
'', ''
Murphy Brown ''Murphy Brown'' is an American television sitcom created by Diane English that premiered on November 14, 1988, on CBS. The series stars Candice Bergen as the eponymous Murphy Brown, a famous investigative journalist and news anchor for ''FYI'', a ...
'', ''
In Living Color ''In Living Color'' is an American sketch comedy television series that originally ran on Fox from April 15, 1990 to May 19, 1994. Keenen Ivory Wayans created, wrote and starred in the program. The show was produced by Ivory Way Productions in ...
'', ''
Wings A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is expre ...
'' and ''
Designing Women ''Designing Women'' is an American television sitcom created by Linda Bloodworth-Thomason that aired on CBS from September 29, 1986, to May 24, 1993, producing seven seasons and 163 episodes. It was a joint production of Bloodworth/Thomason M ...
''), dramas (''
China Beach ''China Beach'' is an American war film, war drama television series set at an evacuation hospital during the Vietnam War. The title refers to My Khe beach in the city of Da Nang, Đà Nẵng, Vietnam, nicknamed "China Beach" in English by Amer ...
'' and ''
Hill Street Blues ''Hill Street Blues'' is an American serial police procedural television series that aired on NBC in prime-time from January 15, 1981, to May 12, 1987, for 146 episodes. The show chronicles the lives of the staff of a single police station loca ...
''), reruns of classic sitcoms (''
Bewitched ''Bewitched'' is an American fantasy sitcom television series that originally aired for eight seasons on ABC from September 17, 1964, to March 25, 1972. It is about a witch who marries an ordinary mortal man and vows to lead the life of a typ ...
'' and ''
The Addams Family ''The Addams Family'' is a fictional family created by American cartoonist Charles Addams. They originally appeared in a series of 150 unrelated single-panel cartoons, about half of which were originally published in ''The New Yorker'' over ...
''), a new animated series ''
Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles Adolescence () is a transitional stage of Developmental biology, physical and psychological Human development (biology), development that generally occurs during the period from puberty to adulthood (typically corresponding to the age of majo ...
'' was added to children's programmes, and daily dating game show ''Love at First Sight'' was presented by Helen Brumby and
Bruno Brookes Trevor Neil "Bruno" Brookes (born 1959 in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire) is an English former radio presenter who became prominent on British radio in the 1980s. He was CEO of in-store radio company Immedia from 2000–2020. Early life and care ...
. Following the daily repeats of ''
Star Trek ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the eponymous 1960s television series and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has expanded into vari ...
'' and ''
Lost in Space ''Lost in Space'' is an American science fiction television series, created and produced by Irwin Allen, which originally aired between 1965 and 1968 on CBS. The series was inspired by the 1812 novel ''The Swiss Family Robinson.'' The series fo ...
'', Sky One picked up a number of science-fiction shows which became a crucial part of its evening line-up such as the UK premiere of ''
Alien Nation ''Alien Nation'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Rockne S. O'Bannon (later known for ''Farscape''), comprising film, television, and other media productions about alien refugees living on Earth. The series began with th ...
'', also added reruns of '' V'' ( 1983 miniseries, '' The Final Battle'' and the
television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed be ...
) and ''
Battlestar Galactica ''Battlestar Galactica'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Glen A. Larson. The franchise began with the original television series in 1978, and was followed by a short-run sequel series (''Galactica 1980''), a line of ...
'' in 1991. After the 1992 airing of ''
The Flash The Flash (or simply Flash) is the name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Harry Lampert, the original Flash first appeared in ''Flash Comics'' #1 (cover date ...
'', Sky One also picked up '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'' which had previously aired on
BBC2 BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream a ...
began a long twice per day run of the franchise in a late afternoon and a late evening timeslot on Mondays to Fridays. A staple of Sky One prime time schedule in its early years were glossy American miniseries such as ''
Roots A root is the part of a plant, generally underground, that anchors the plant body, and absorbs and stores water and nutrients. Root or roots may also refer to: Art, entertainment, and media * ''The Root'' (magazine), an online magazine focusing ...
'', ''
Shōgun , officially , was the title of the military dictators of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, though during part of the Kamaku ...
'', ''
Masada Masada ( he, מְצָדָה ', "fortress") is an ancient fortification in the Southern District of Israel situated on top of an isolated rock plateau, akin to a mesa. It is located on the eastern edge of the Judaean Desert, overlooking the D ...
'', '' The Thorn Birds'', ''
North and South North and South may refer to: Literature * ''North and South'' (Gaskell novel), an 1854 novel by Elizabeth Gaskell * ''North and South'' (trilogy), a series of novels by John Jakes (1982–1987) ** ''North and South'' (Jakes novel), first novel ...
'' and ''
Lonesome Dove ''Lonesome Dove'' is a 1985 Western novel by American writer Larry McMurtry. It is the first published book of the ''Lonesome Dove'' series, but the third installment in the series chronologically. The story revolves around the relationships b ...
'', which aired mostly in two-hour installments each week Sundays to Tuesdays. As the format was beginning to fade in the United States, the miniseries were reduced to two nights in late 1992 and then rescheduled to Tuesdays and Wednesdays in early 1994 under its new title called ''Midweek Drama'', before being dropped altogether shortly after that and reappearing only as special event programming. In 1993, Sky One finally replaced its long-running Sunday night drama ''
21 Jump Street ''21 Jump Street'' is an American police procedural television series that aired on the Fox network and in first run syndication from April 12, 1987, to April 27, 1991, with a total of 103 episodes. The series focuses on a squad of youthful-loo ...
'' with exclusive premiere of ''
The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles ''The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles'' is an American television series that aired on ABC from March 4, 1992, to July 24, 1993. Filming took place in various locations around the world, with "Old Indy" bookend segments filmed in Wilmington, Nort ...
'' and later ''
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine ''Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' (abbreviated as ''DS9'') is an American science fiction television series created by Rick Berman and Michael Piller. The fourth series in the ''Star Trek'' media franchise, it originally aired in syndication from ...
''. The Sunday night timeslot was ultimately given to new episodes of the hit teen soap ''
Beverly Hills, 90210 ''Beverly Hills, 90210'' (often referred to by its short title, ''90210'') is an American teen drama television series created by Darren Star and produced by Aaron Spelling under his production company Spelling Television. The series ran for ...
'' which was later paired off with its spin-off ''
Melrose Place ''Melrose Place'' is an American prime time television soap opera that aired on Fox from July 8, 1992, to May 24, 1999, for seven seasons. The show follows the lives of a group of young adults living in an apartment complex on Melrose Place, i ...
''. After many years in the clear on 1 September of that year, Sky One was encrypted as part of the new Sky Multichannels subscription package, and could no longer be viewed outside Britain and Ireland without exporting a box, or receiving it over cable (although it had already been encrypted for a while since its original launch and first went in the clear in around 1987). On 1 October 1998, Sky One's
digital Digital usually refers to something using discrete digits, often binary digits. Technology and computing Hardware *Digital electronics, electronic circuits which operate using digital signals ** Digital camera, which captures and stores digital ...
feed launched with Sky Digital. Sky One was one of the four last remaining channels on the analogue platform when it was switched off at midnight, 27 September 2001. In 2000, a dedicated feed of Sky One for Ireland was launched for most of this Irish feed's existence, the only difference between it and the United Kingdom feed has been differing commercials and programme promotions. In June 2003, the channel started broadcasting in 16:9
widescreen Widescreen images are displayed within a set of aspect ratio (image), aspect ratios (relationship of image width to height) used in film, television and computer screens. In film, a widescreen film is any film image with a width-to-height aspect ...
. However, all television commercials were broadcast in 4:3 until 21 November 2005, because they were played off the same servers for all Sky channels, many of which were not broadcast in widescreen. On 25 August 2012,
Stuart Murphy Stuart Neil Luke Murphy (born 6 November 1971 in Leeds), is the Chief Executive of the English National Opera. He was educated at St Mary's School, Menston and Clare College, Cambridge. From 2012 - 2015, he was Director, Entertainment Channels a ...
, director of Sky entertainment channels, announced that a one-hour timeshift of Sky One and
Sky Atlantic Sky Atlantic is a British pay television channel owned by Sky Group Limited broadcast in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The channel is primarily dedicated to imported programmes from the United States, and holds the domestic rights to HB ...
will due to start in the autumn, with the former launching on 12 November of that year. For New Year's Day 2014 (1 January), Sky One was temporarily renamed Sky Onesie aiming "to encourage viewers to snuggle up in front of the television wearing onesies, in a bid to recover from the previous night's celebrations". In 2017, Sky One began broadcasting some sports coverage. This included a partial simulcast of ''
Soccer Saturday ''Gillette Labs Soccer Saturday'' is a weekly television programme broadcast on Sky Sports in the United Kingdom and Ireland during the football season. The programme updates viewers on the progress of association football games in the United ...
'', highlights of, and occasional live coverage of,
Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...
motor racing and the occasional live football match. The summer of 2019 saw Sky One show highlights of the
2019 Cricket World Cup The 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup was the 12th Cricket World Cup, a quadrennial One Day International (ODI) cricket tournament contested by men's national teams and organised by the International Cricket Council (ICC). It was hosted between 30 May ...
and live coverage of England's matches in the
2019 Netball World Cup The 2019 Netball World Cup (also known as the 2019 Vitality Netball World Cup for sponsorship reasons) was the 15th edition of the INF Netball World Cup. It was held from 12–21 July 2019 at the Liverpool Arena in Liverpool, England with matche ...
.


Sky Two and Sky Three

The success of the channel led to the launch of a sister service Sky 2 on 1 September 1996, broadcasts more first-run programmes between 7.00pm and 6.00am only. The spin-off channel was not a success until it was closed on 31 August 1997, which was replaced by the UK's version of National Geographic from the following day, and Sky One reverts back to its original name. On 9 December 2002, the channel was relaunched as Sky One Mix. On 21 September 2004, the channel was renamed Sky Mix. On 31 October 2005, Sky Mix was renamed Sky Two with the launch of a second sister channel
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 ...
. Sky Two was renamed Sky Replay on 27 August 2020, and Sky Three was renamed Pick on 28 February 2011.


High-definition

To coincide with the launch of Sky HD, Sky One HD began broadcasting on 22 May 2006. The channel is a
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, simul ...
of Sky One and screens high-definition versions of some of the channel's programming, which include ''
Lost Lost may refer to getting lost, or to: Geography * Lost, Aberdeenshire, a hamlet in Scotland *Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail, or LOST, a hiking and cycling trail in Florida, US History *Abbreviation of lost work, any work which is known to have bee ...
'', '' Bones'', '' 24'', ''
WWE SmackDown ''WWE SmackDown'', also known as ''Friday Night SmackDown'' or simply ''SmackDown'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE that as of currently airs live every Friday at 8 p.m. ET on Fox. Fox Deportes sim ...
'', '' Fringe'', ''
Prison Break ''Prison Break'' is an American serial drama television series created by Paul Scheuring for Fox. The series revolves around two brothers, Lincoln Burrows (Dominic Purcell) and Michael Scofield ( Wentworth Miller); Burrows has been sentenced ...
'', '' House'', and most recently new episodes of ''
The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, ...
''. Programmes that are not available in HD are "upscaled" (although Sky One showed its widescreen version of the television show ''
Malcolm in the Middle ''Malcolm in the Middle'' is an American family television sitcom created by Linwood Boomer for Fox. The series premiered on January 9, 2000, and ended on May 14, 2006, after seven seasons and 151 episodes. The series follows a dysfunction ...
'', unlike most American broadcasts, since the film was originally filmed on
Panavision Panavision is an American motion picture equipment company founded in 1953 specializing in cameras and lenses, based in Woodland Hills, California. Formed by Robert Gottschalk as a small partnership to create anamorphic projection lenses dur ...
widescreen film but cropped to full-screen by most broadcasters. This airing of the show preserves the film's appearance without stretching or upscaling, although some scenes were compromised for widescreen and had to be upscaled). Sky stated that they intended to increase the amount of HD content they show, and hoped that by the end of 2008, two-thirds of all
prime time Prime time or the peak time is the block of broadcast programming taking place during the middle of the evening for a television show. It is mostly targeted towards adults (and sometimes families). It is used by the major television networks to ...
shows, and 90% of their own original commissions, would be in HD. A new logo was introduced along with the rebrand on 31 August 2008. On 1 October 2010, Sky1 HD launched on
Virgin Media Virgin Media is a British telecommunications company which provides telephone, television and internet services in the United Kingdom. Its headquarters are at Green Park in Reading, England. It is owned by Virgin Media O2, a 50:50 joint ventu ...
channel 122, with Sky2 moving to channel 123 and
Sky3 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 su ...
moving to channel 180 on 22 September 2010, to make way for the new service.


Virgin Media dispute

On 1 March 2007 at midnight, Sky's basic channels – which included Sky One, Sky Two,
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 ...
,
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 he ...
,
Sky Sports News Sky Sports News (SSN) is a British paid television sports news channel run by Sky, a division of Comcast. History Since 1992, Sky Sports had broadcast sports news, initially a brief ''Football Update'' and later this was expanded into a ...
, Sky Travel and Sky Travel Extra – were removed from the
Virgin Media Virgin Media is a British telecommunications company which provides telephone, television and internet services in the United Kingdom. Its headquarters are at Green Park in Reading, England. It is owned by Virgin Media O2, a 50:50 joint ventu ...
cable television services after a dispute 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 ...
. This was due to the expiry of their previous carriage agreement and the companies' inability to reach a new deal. Virgin issued legal proceedings against Sky over the dispute in April 2007. At the beginning of March 2008, the two companies were reported to have resumed discussions over the dispute. Virgin chief executive Neil Berkett was reported as saying they had "continued interest in securing Sky basics back on our platform". The resumed talks had followed shortly after both Virgin and BSkyB had launched appeals against a recent
Competition Appeal Tribunal The Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) of the United Kingdom was created by Section 12 and Schedule 2 to the Enterprise Act 2002 which came into force on 1 April 2003. The Competition Service is an executive non-departmental public body which ...
ruling on BSkyB's 17.9% stake in
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 th ...
. On 4 November 2008, a carriage deal between BSkyB and Virgin Media was reached and BSkyB's channels were available on Virgin's cable service from 13 November of that year. The Sky basic channels were spread across each tier of Virgin's cable television service: Sky Three and Sky News were made available in the lowest M tier; Sky Sports News joined the M+ tier; Sky One and Sky Two were made available in the L tier; and Sky Arts 1, Sky Arts 2,
Sky Real Lives Sky Real Lives was an in-house channel from BSkyB 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 Octobe ...
and Sky Real Lives 2 joined the XL tier.


Closure

It was announced on 27 July 2021 that Sky One would be retired and that a new channel, Sky Showcase would replace its EPG slot on Sky. Another channel, Sky Max would launch on the same day. Most of Sky's original content and the drama output would move here, while the most of the comedy output would move to
Sky Comedy Sky Comedy is a British pay television channel owned and operated by Sky, a division of Comcast, which launched on 27 January 2020, replacing Universal TV. It is the first dedicated full-time comedy station in Sky's channel portfolio since t ...
. ''
Prodigal Son The Parable of the Prodigal Son (also known as the parable of the Two Brothers, Lost Son, Loving Father, or of the Forgiving Father) is one of the parables of Jesus Christ in the Bible, appearing in Luke 15:11–32. Jesus shares the parable wit ...
'' was the channel's last programme. At the time of closure, it was available via digital satellite on Sky, digital cable on
Virgin Media Virgin Media is a British telecommunications company which provides telephone, television and internet services in the United Kingdom. Its headquarters are at Green Park in Reading, England. It is owned by Virgin Media O2, a 50:50 joint ventu ...
,
IPTV Internet Protocol television (IPTV) is the delivery of television content over Internet Protocol (IP) networks. This is in contrast to delivery through traditional terrestrial, satellite, and cable television formats. Unlike downloaded med ...
on TalkTalk TV and online via Sky Go and Now. In the Republic of Ireland, the channel was available via
Sky Ireland Sky Ireland Limited is a subsidiary of Comcast-owned Sky and supplies television, internet and telephony services in Ireland. Its corporate headquarters are in Dublin which were opened by Taoiseach Enda Kenny on 18 January 2013. Sky Ireland ...
,
Virgin Media 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 ...
and Eir Vision.


Continuity announcers

Bruce Hammal was the station's continuity announcer from 1984 to 1997.
Absolute Radio Absolute Radio is a British National radio station owned and operated by Bauer as part of the Absolute Radio Network. It broadcasts nationally across the UK via Digital audio broadcasting and on 1215 kHz MW. History 1993–1997: Vi ...
DJ
Claire Sturgess Claire Annette Sturgess (born 15 September 1966) is an English DJ and voiceover artist. Early life She was born in Salisbury in Wiltshire, where she grew up. She attended Avon Valley College in Durrington, Wiltshire. Career BBC Radio 1 She ...
has been a "voice" of Sky One since 1998, and was the sole announcer from 2001 until 2005. As one of Sky One's four announcers, her voice-overs are pre-recorded once a week and played out by an automated system. Live continuity announcements air each evening. In 2009, they were voiced by announcers Dave Kelly, Faye Bamford and Philippa Collins. In 2010, three new continuity announcers were hired, Katie Morton, Katie Hudson and Paul Daniels, replacing all the previous announcers. In 2011, two new part-time announcers were hired. During the day, pre-recorded announcements air, promoting shows from all the different Sky channels.


Former logos

File:Sky_One_logo_1993_-_1995.jpg, (1990–1993) File:Sky_One_logo_1995_-_1996.jpg, (1995–1996) File:Sky_One_logo_1996_-_1997.jpg, (1996–1997) File:Sky_One_logo_1998_-_2002.jpg, (1998–2002) File:Sky_One_logo_2002_-_2004.jpg, (2002–2004) File:Sky1 logo.svg, (2008–2011) File:Sky1 Germany Logo 2016.png, (2015–2017) File:Sky One - Logo 2017.svg, (2017–2020)


Programming


1980s and 1990s

Sky commissioned many homegrown programmes since it first started broadcasting back in 1984, but it was not until 1989 when content went beyond music and children's shows. During the early years in commissioned some new game shows including: * ''
Sale of the Century ''Sale of the Century'' (stylized as ''$ale of the Century'') is an American television game show that originally debuted on September 29, 1969, on NBC daytime. It was one of three NBC game shows to premiere on that date, the other two being th ...
'' * ''
The Price Is Right ''The Price Is Right'' is a television game show franchise created by Bob Stewart, originally produced by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman; currently it is produced and owned by Fremantle. The franchise centers on television game shows, but also inc ...
'' * ''Love at First Sight'' * ''Wife of the Week'' * ''
Anything for Money ''Anything for Money'' is an American television game show where two contestants tried to predict the outcomes of situations in which cast members Christopher Callen and Ralph Harris attempted to coerce passers-by into participating in jokes, i ...
'' * ''
Games World ''Games World'' was a British entertainment programme that aired on Sky One originally from 1 March 1993 to 10 March 1995 with Bob Mills as host, and then revived from 9 March 1998 to 1999 with Andy Collins as host. Format The main body of t ...
'' * '' Blockbusters'' * '' Spellbound'' * ''
Jeopardy! ''Jeopardy!'' is an American game show created by Merv Griffin. The show is a quiz competition that reverses the traditional question-and-answer format of many quiz shows. Rather than being given questions, contestants are instead given genera ...
'' * '' Through the Keyhole'' * ''
Beat the Crusher ''Beat the Crusher'' is a British game show that aired on Sky One from 21 September to 23 November 1998. It was hosted by Melinda Messenger and assisted by Freddie Starr. The show was noted for its bizarre end game, which featured two couples g ...
'' * '' Prickly Heat'' * ''Dating Hell'' The channel commissioned a number of home grown programmes (for example, dramas such as '' The Wanderer'', '' Springhill'', ''
Dream Team Dream Team may refer to: Sport Basketball * Dream Team, the 1992 United States men's Olympic basketball team in Barcelona * Dream Team II, the 1994 U.S. men's national basketball team at the FIBA World Championship * Dream Team III, the 1996 ...
'' and ''
Space Island One ''Space Island One'' (or ''Raumstation Unity'' in German) is a British/German science fiction television series that ran for 26 episodes beginning in 1998. A co-production between the UK's Sky One channel and the German Vox channel, it starred ...
'') while expanding its small number of Australian television series, notably include: * ''
Chances Chances may refer to: * ''Chances'' (TV series), an Australian soap opera * ''Chances'' (Philippine TV series), a prime-time soap opera * '' Chances: The Women of Magdalene'', a 2006 documentary film * ''Chances'' (novel), a 1981 novel by Jac ...
'' * '' E Street'' * ''
Paradise Beach ''Paradise Beach'' is an Australian television series made by Village Roadshow Pictures. It was made in association with America's Genesis Entertainment which later merged with New World Television for the Nine Network, and aired between 199 ...
''


2000s and 2010s

Sky One focused in science-fiction and other series in the 2000s which did not have a lot of successes, including: * ''
The Strangerers ''The Strangerers'' is a British television comedy-drama science fiction series written by Rob Grant (best known as co-creator of '' Red Dwarf'') and was broadcast on Sky One between 15 February and 11 April 2000. A single series was made wit ...
'', a science-fiction sitcom show about two aliens on Earth, that was dropped after one series and never repeated *
Al Murray Alastair James Hay Murray (born 10 May 1968) is an English comedian, actor, musician and writer from Hammersmith. In 2003, he was listed in ''The Observer'' as one of the 50 funniest acts in British comedy, and in 2007 he was voted the 16th gre ...
's sitcom ''
Time Gentlemen Please ''Time Gentlemen Please'' is a British sitcom primarily written by Richard Herring and Al Murray and broadcast on Sky One from 2000 to 2002. Premise The show is set in a forgotten, unwelcoming pub whose opinionated landlord, 'Guv' (short f ...
'' * '' Baddiel's Syndrome'', a sitcom starring
David Baddiel David Lionel Baddiel (; born 28 May 1964) is an English comedian, presenter, screenwriter, and author. He is known for his work alongside Rob Newman in ''The Mary Whitehouse Experience'' and his comedy partnership with Frank Skinner. He has als ...
* '' Hex'', another science-fiction show which was cancelled in April 2006 * ''
Mile High ''Mile High'' is a British television drama based on the lives of the cabin crew members of Fresh!, a budget airline based in London. The name of the show is a reference to the Mile High Club. The show was broadcast on Sky1 from 2003 to 2005 ...
'', which only lasted from 2003 to 2005 * Sky also co-produced ''
The 4400 ''The 4400'' (pronounced "the forty-four hundred") is a science fiction television series produced by CBS Paramount Network Television in association with BSkyB, Renegade 83, and American Zoetrope for USA Network in the United States and Sky On ...
'' and co-financed the first series of '' Battlestar Galactica'' * ''
Dream Team Dream Team may refer to: Sport Basketball * Dream Team, the 1992 United States men's Olympic basketball team in Barcelona * Dream Team II, the 1994 U.S. men's national basketball team at the FIBA World Championship * Dream Team III, the 1996 ...
'', about a fictional
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...
team Sky One also screened
reality television Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 1 ...
shows such as: * ''Cruise with Stelios'' * '' Road Wars'' * ''
Shock Treatment ''Shock Treatment'' is a 1981 American musical comedy film directed by Jim Sharman, and co-written by Sharman and Richard O'Brien. It is a follow-up to the 1975 film ''The Rocky Horror Picture Show''. While not an outright sequel, the film do ...
'' * ''World's Deadliest Gangs'' * ''
Pineapple Dance Studios Pineapple Dance Studios' is a dance studio complex, performing arts school, and associated dancewear, clothing, and eyewear brand, based in London, England. Origin Pineapple Studios was founded by former model Debbie Moore, who had started dan ...
'' * ''World of Pain'' * ''
Road Raja ''Road Raja'' is a reality television game show that aired on Sky One from 29 August to 3 October 2004. Set in Mumbai, the series followed six celebrities as they completed a number of driving tasks in and around the city, culminating in the Road ...
'' * '' Uncovered'' * ''
Cirque de Celebrité ''Cirque de Celebrité'' is a celebrity reality television show broadcast on Sky One. The show features celebrities training for and then performing various circus acts. The winner of the series of 2006 was Grace Adams-Short. A second series o ...
'' * '' Hairspray: The School Musical'' The channel received relative success with scientific shows such as: * '' Brainiac: Science Abuse'' and spin-offs ** '' Brainiac: History Abuse'' ** ''
Brainiac's Test Tube Baby ''Brainiac's Test Tube Baby'' is a live British parody popular science entertainment TV show hosted by Dominic Wood. It was a spin-off of the highly successful Sky1 show '' Brainiac: Science Abuse'' and first aired on Thursday 3 August 2006. ...
'' * ''Mission Implausible'' Sky One commissioned a two-part ''
Terry Pratchett's Hogfather ''Terry Pratchett's Hogfather'' is a 2006 two-part British Christmas-themed fantasy comedy television miniseries adaptation of ''Hogfather'' by Terry Pratchett, produced by The Mob, and first broadcast on Sky1, and in High Definition on Sky1 ...
'' series for Christmas 2006, this proved to be successful and so in 2008, Sky brought out an adaptation of ''
The Colour of Magic ''The Colour of Magic'' is a 1983 fantasy comedy novel by Terry Pratchett, and is the first book of the ''Discworld'' series. The first printing of the British edition consisted of only 506 copies. Pratchett has described it as "an attempt to ...
'' and its second half ''
The Light Fantastic ''The Light Fantastic'' is a comic fantasy novel by Terry Pratchett, the second of the ''Discworld'' series. It was published on 2 June 1986, the first printing being of 1,034 copies. The title, taken from a poem by John Milton, in which it r ...
''. In 2010, Sky One also released '' Terry Pratchett's Going Postal'', the 33rd book in The Discworld series. Sky One had also re-commissioned a number of earlier game shows including '' Blockbusters'', which brought the series back once again between 30 October 2000 and 23 March 2001 was produced by Grundy (now owns the format) and presented by
Liza Tarbuck Liza Tarbuck ( ; born 21 November 1964) is an English actress, comedian, and television and radio presenter. Early life Liza Tarbuck was born in Liverpool. She is the daughter of comedian Jimmy Tarbuck and his wife Pauline, with an older siste ...
, but did not capture the same degree of popularity as the
Bob Holness Robert Wentworth John Holness (12 November 1928 – 6 January 2012) was a British-South African radio and television presenter and occasional actor. He presented the British version of '' Blockbusters''. Early life Holness was born in Vryheid, ...
incarnation. The most recent game show was from
Mark Burnett Mark Burnett (born 17 July 1960) is a television producer who is the former Chairman of MGM Worldwide Television Group. He is best known for creating and producing the reality shows ''The Apprentice'', '' Survivor'', ''The Voice'', and ''Sh ...
, '' Are You Smarter than a 10 Year Old?'', based on a United States format. On 30 January 2008, Sky One announced plans to bring back the British 1990s combat-based game show '' Gladiators'', which was subsequently cancelled in 2009. They also showed the sketch show ''
Harry Enfield's Brand Spanking New Show ''Harry Enfield's Brand Spanking New Show'' is a British sketch show (sketch comedy) starring Harry Enfield. It was first broadcast on Sky 1 in 2000 for one series. The series followed Enfield's first project ''Harry Enfield's Television Pro ...
''. In 2010, Sky One focused on commissioning several quite long-running or well known comedy infused shows, starting with ''
A League of Their Own ''A League of Their Own'' is a 1992 American sports comedy-drama film directed by Penny Marshall that tells a fictionalized account of the real-life All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL). The film stars Tom Hanks, Geena ...
'', ''
An Idiot Abroad ''An Idiot Abroad'' is a British travel documentary comedy television series broadcast on Sky One, as well as a series of companion books published by Canongate Books, created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant and starring Karl Pilkington. ...
'' and ''
Little Crackers ''Little Crackers'' is a British Christmas comedy-drama that was broadcast on Sky1. It consists of a series of short films featuring stars of British and Irish comedy, including Stephen Fry, Catherine Tate, Chris O'Dowd, Kathy Burke, Victoria W ...
''. In 2011, Sky One premiered supermarket sitcom '' Trollied'', which had broadcast six series and over 50 episodes, becoming Sky One's longest running comedy series. Not all shows were well received, at least by its home country audience, including '' Parents'' which was broadcast in 2012 and was not popular, leading Sky not to commission it for a second series. ''
Moone Boy ''Moone Boy'' is an Irish sitcom created, co-written by and co-starring Chris O'Dowd for British broadcaster Sky One. The series is co-written by Nick Vincent Murphy and is produced by Baby Cow Productions, Sprout Pictures, Hot Cod Production ...
'', a series written by and starring Chris O'Dowd, first screened in 2012, became an instant hit internationally. It lasted three series, and ended in 2015. In 2017, Sky One stopped showing factual content and moved to showing more comedy and drama programmes as well as selected sports coverage.


Music

In 1994, Sky One started their own music show called ''The Coca Cola Hit Mix'' (also known as ''The Hit Mix'') hosted by
Terry Christian Terence Christian (born 8 May 1960) is a British broadcaster, journalist and author. He has presented several national television series in the UK including Channel 4's late night entertainment show '' The Word'' (1990–1995) and six series o ...
, featuring music news and guests at the time. The show featured regular competitions, phone-ins with guests and other features. This later evolved into a late night broadcast called ''Hit Mix Long Play'' which would broadcast simultaneously on both Sky One and Sky Two playing music videos from various genres; the show also featured themed topics such as "Step by Step" which would feature music videos with stairs in the song or video when the scheduled programming had finished. This became a popular part of the brand and would often have exclusive first play on new releases that week. A later expansion of the music brand would be Sky One's ''Morning Glory'' show which would feature music videos in the early morning before the scheduled programming would start, which also featured various themes as well as caller requests.


Films

Sky One occasionally screened feature films which were shown with advertisement breaks, as well as several premium movie channels including Sky Cinema and its sister services.


American imports

The channel became known for its first-run American imports such as: ''
Seinfeld ''Seinfeld'' ( ) is an American television sitcom created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld. It aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, over nine seasons and 180 episodes. It stars Seinfeld as a fictionalized version of himself and ...
'', '' Rescue 911'', ''
Unsolved Mysteries ''Unsolved Mysteries'' is an American mystery documentary television show, created by John Cosgrove and Terry Dunn Meurer. Documenting cold cases and paranormal phenomena, it began as a series of seven specials, presented by Raymond Burr, Ka ...
'', ''
Buffy the Vampire Slayer ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' is an American supernatural drama television series created by writer and director Joss Whedon. It is based on the 1992 film of the same name, also written by Whedon, although the events of the film are not consid ...
'' and ''
South Park ''South Park'' is an American animated sitcom created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone and developed by Brian Graden for Comedy Central. The series revolves around four boysStan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Eric Cartman, and Kenny McCormickand ...
'', as well as some older programmes included ''
Hill Street Blues ''Hill Street Blues'' is an American serial police procedural television series that aired on NBC in prime-time from January 15, 1981, to May 12, 1987, for 146 episodes. The show chronicles the lives of the staff of a single police station loca ...
'', ''
M*A*S*H ''M*A*S*H'' (Mobile Army Surgical Hospital) is an American media franchise consisting of a series of novels, a film, several television series, plays, and other properties, and based on the semi-autobiographical fiction of Richard Hooker. T ...
'', ''
Quantum Leap ''Quantum Leap'' is an American science fiction television series, created by Donald P. Bellisario, that premiered on NBC and aired for five seasons, from March 26, 1989, to May 5, 1993. The series stars Scott Bakula as Dr. Sam Beckett, a phys ...
'' and
Lucille Ball Lucille Désirée Ball (August 6, 1911 – April 26, 1989) was an American actress, comedienne and producer. She was nominated for 13 Primetime Emmy Awards, winning five times, and was the recipient of several other accolades, such as the Gold ...
's various comedy series. It relies heavily on screenings for this network as they coming from
Rupert Murdoch Keith Rupert Murdoch ( ; born 11 March 1931) is an Australian-born American business magnate. Through his company News Corp, he is the owner of hundreds of local, national, and international publishing outlets around the world, including ...
's
Fox Broadcasting Company The Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly known simply as Fox and stylized in all caps as FOX, is an American commercial broadcast television network owned by Fox Corporation and headquartered in New York City, with master control operations ...
with other shows like ''
The X-Files ''The X-Files'' is an American science fiction on television, science fiction drama (film and television), drama television series created by Chris Carter (screenwriter), Chris Carter. The series revolves around Federal Bureau of Investigation ...
'', ''
In Living Color ''In Living Color'' is an American sketch comedy television series that originally ran on Fox from April 15, 1990 to May 19, 1994. Keenen Ivory Wayans created, wrote and starred in the program. The show was produced by Ivory Way Productions in ...
'', '' Cops'', ''
Millennium A millennium (plural millennia or millenniums) is a period of one thousand years, sometimes called a kiloannus, kiloannum (ka), or kiloyear (ky). Normally, the word is used specifically for periods of a thousand years that begin at the starting ...
'', ''
King of the Hill ''King of the Hill'' is an American animated sitcom created by Mike Judge and Greg Daniels for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It aired its original non-syndicated run from January 12, 1997, to September 13, 2009, and centers on the Hills, an Am ...
'', ''
Futurama ''Futurama'' is an American animated science fiction sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series follows the adventures of the professional slacker Philip J. Fry, who is cryogenically preserved for 1000 years ...
'', ''
Family Guy ''Family Guy'' is an American animated sitcom originally conceived and created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The show centers around the Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter and Lois; their ch ...
'' and ''
Malcolm in the Middle ''Malcolm in the Middle'' is an American family television sitcom created by Linwood Boomer for Fox. The series premiered on January 9, 2000, and ended on May 14, 2006, after seven seasons and 151 episodes. The series follows a dysfunction ...
''. Another early and long-running fixture was '' Married... with Children'' ran all through the 1990s, but in the early 2000s as the show suddenly disappeared from its regular schedule and has not been screened on any Sky channel since. Sky One was also the original home to the UK's first-run showings of '' ER'' and ''
Friends ''Friends'' is an American television sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994, to May 6, 2004, lasting ten seasons. With an ensemble cast starring Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Li ...
'' for series 4–6 of both shows (Channel 4 had shown series 1–3 first), giving Sky One some of the highest ratings for any satellite channel. In 2000, 2.8 million viewers watched an episode of ''Friends'', the highest-rated show on this network. However, when
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...
launched their own digital sister service E4 they outbid Sky One for exclusive first-run rights to both shows. However, Sky One still held the repeat rights for the early series of both shows for several years. Since 2011, ''Friends'' has been shown on Comedy Central.


WWF/WWE

From 1989, Sky Channel (later became Sky One) was the home of
World Wrestling Federation World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and var ...
in the UK. Big premier events like
WrestleMania WrestleMania is a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event held annually between mid-March and mid-April by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. Since premiering in 1985, 37 editions followed, mos ...
,
UK Rampage UK Rampage was an annual professional wrestling event produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) exclusively for the United Kingdom. With the exception of 1990, it was held from 1989 to 1993. These events aired live on the BSkyB family of c ...
,
SummerSlam SummerSlam is a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event, produced annually since 1988 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. Dubbed "The Biggest Party of the Summer", it is considered WWE's secon ...
,
Survivor Series Survivor Series is a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event, produced annually since 1987 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. Held in November generally the week of Thanksgiving, it is the se ...
,
Royal Rumble The Royal Rumble is a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming List of WWE pay-per-view and WWE Network events, event, produced annually since 1988 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. It is named afte ...
and
This Tuesday in Texas This Tuesday in Texas was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). It took place on December 3, 1991, at the Freeman Coliseum in San Antonio, Texas. The event was an attempt by t ...
would air on Sky One until the end of 1991, these were shown on taped delay a number of days after the events were recorded. Sky moved the big premier events to
Sky Movies Sky Cinema is a British subscription film service owned by Sky Group (a division of Comcast). In the United Kingdom, Sky Cinema channels currently broadcast on the Sky satellite and Virgin Media cable platforms, and in addition Sky Cinema ...
in 1991 before they transferred to
Sky Sports Sky Sports is a group of British subscription sports channels operated by the satellite pay television company Sky Group (a division of Comcast), and is the dominant subscription television sports brand in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It ...
on 1 September 1992 when the channel became a subscription service. From 1995, subscribers to the Sky Sports channel would see not only a taped delay showing of these pay-per-view events, but Sky also offered a live showing starting a midnight UK time on the evening the event took place. Sky One continued to air WWF/WWE shows on Friday night and Saturday/Sunday morning that were produced for
syndicated television Broadcast syndication is the practice of leasing the right to broadcasting television shows and radio programs to multiple television stations and radio stations, without going through a broadcast network. It is common in the United States where ...
in the United States from the early 1990s until the late 2010s. Sky Sports aired ''
Monday Night Raw ''WWE Raw'', also known as ''Monday Night Raw'' or simply ''Raw'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE that currently airs live every Monday at 8 p.m. ET on the USA Network in the United States. The show ...
'' and later ''
SmackDown ''WWE SmackDown'', also known as ''Friday Night SmackDown'' or simply ''SmackDown'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE that as of currently airs live every Friday at 8 p.m. ET on Fox. Fox Deportes sim ...
'' alongside all pay-per-view events and required an additional subscription to be able to view the Sports package, this led to the WWF/WWE content on Sky One being available to more viewers in the UK than the shows that aired only on Sky Sports. While WWF/WWE pay-per-view events aired on Sky Sports, other shows include ''
Superstars A superstar is a widely acclaimed celebrity. Superstar or superstars may also refer to: People * Warhol superstars, the associates of Andy Warhol * WWE Superstar, a branding term referring to a WWE wrestler * Superstar Billy Graham (born 1943) ...
'', '' Wrestling Challenge'', ''
All American Wrestling AAW Wrestling (AAW) or AAW: Professional Wrestling Redefined and formerly known as All American Wrestling, is an American independent professional wrestling promotion, based in the Chicago area - originally holding shows in Berwyn, Illinois, a ...
'', ''Action Zone'', ''
Mania Mania, also known as manic syndrome, is a mental and behavioral disorder defined as a state of abnormally elevated arousal, affect, and energy level, or "a state of heightened overall activation with enhanced affective expression together wi ...
'', '' LiveWire'', ''
Shotgun A shotgun (also known as a scattergun, or historically as a fowling piece) is a long-barreled firearm designed to shoot a straight-walled cartridge known as a shotshell, which usually discharges numerous small pellet-like spherical sub- pr ...
'' and ''
Metal A metal (from ancient Greek, Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electrical resistivity and conductivity, e ...
'' which aired on Saturday or Sunday exclusively on Sky One with repeats throughout the week on the channel. These were often shows edited for younger viewers to fit the timeslot (especially during the riskier content of the Attitude era) and had dubbed commentary especially for the UK audience. Sky One continued to broadcast an edited one hour version of ''Raw'' on Sunday mornings before all WWE programmes moved to rival network
BT Sport BT Sport is a group of pay television sports channels in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Owned by Warner Bros. Discovery Sports Europe and BT Group, they first launched on 1 August 2013. The channels are based at the former International Bro ...
.


''The Simpsons''

On 2 September 1990, Sky One launched its hit American animated series ''
The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, ...
'' which became a signature show and aired continuously on the channel for 31 years until it was ceased in 2021 (as well as the Sunday morning religious programme '' Hour of Power'' was another to remain the schedule during most of its run), it had a long association within the series from its early years and remained the exclusive British broadcaster until it showed terrestrially on the BBC between 23 November 1996 and 7 May 2004, having lost the rights to
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...
on 18 February 2002. On 17 March 2009, Sky One broadcast the 20th season episode " In the Name of the Grandfather" for the first time – five days before its original US airing – to be shown in the United Kingdom as gathered over one million viewers. Sky One had also aired episodes within three days after its US first-run, including "
Judge Me Tender "Judge Me Tender" is the twenty-third and final episode of the twenty-first season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. The 464th episode of the series overall, it originally aired on the Fox network in the United States ...
" on 27 May 2010. In November 2012, ''The Simpsons'' was not broadcast on the timeshift service because BSkyB is prohibited from doing so under the current terms of their licensing agreement with 20th Century Fox Television Distribution included an on-screen message appears redirecting viewers to Sky One. As of 2017, ''The Simpsons'' is available to watch on the timeshifted channel. Following the death of voice actress
Marcia Wallace Marcia Karen Wallace (November 1, 1942 – October 25, 2013) was an American actress and comedian, primarily known for her roles in television situation comedies. She is best known for her roles as receptionist Carol Kester on the 1970s sitc ...
, Sky One broadcasts three of best episodes from 6.30pm including " Bart the Lover", "
The Ned-Liest Catch "The Ned-Liest Catch" is the twenty-second and final episode of the twenty-second season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on May 22, 2011. This is the second ...
" and "
Ned 'n' Edna's Blend Agenda "Ned 'n' Edna's Blend Agenda" (changed from "Ned 'n' Edna's Blend" for unknown reasons) is the twenty-first and penultimate episode of the twenty-third season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It originally aired on t ...
" on 28 October 2013.


''Star Trek''

Sky One obtained the first-run rights for ''
Star Trek ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the eponymous 1960s television series and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has expanded into vari ...
'' on 1 July 1990, which previously had been with the BBC. During its entire run of ''
The Original Series ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry that follows the adventures of the starship and its crew. It later acquired the retronym of ''Star Trek: The Original Series'' (''TOS'') to distingui ...
'', Sky One had chosen three episodes – "
Plato's Stepchildren "Plato's Stepchildren" is the tenth episode of the third season of the American science fiction television series ''Star Trek''. Written by Meyer Dolinsky and directed by David Alexander, it was first broadcast on November 22, 1968. In the ep ...
", " The Empath" and " Whom Gods Destroy" – as well as the unseen pilot were eventually shown on satellite television, but not screened by the BBC between 19 August 1992 and 19 January 1994 for similar reasons following audience complaints after broadcast. ''
The Next Generation Next Generation or Next-Generation may refer to: Publications and literature * ''Next Generation'' (magazine), video game magazine that was made by the now defunct Imagine Media publishing company * Next Generation poets (2004), list of young ...
'' was initially shown five nights a week at 5.00pm (repeated again at 10.30pm) between 5 October 1992 and 16 August 1993, starting with "
Encounter at Farpoint "Encounter at Farpoint" is the pilot episode and series premiere of the American science fiction television series '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'', which premiered in syndication on September 28, 1987. It was written by D. C. Fontana a ...
" and running all the way up to "
Timescape ''Timescape'' is a 1980 science fiction novel by American writer Gregory Benford (with unbilled co-author Hilary Foister, Benford's sister-in-law, who is credited as having "contributed significantly to the manuscript"). It won the 1981 Nebula an ...
". The channel also acquired rerun rights to the episodes from the first three seasons previously aired on
BBC2 BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream a ...
– with the addition of " The High Ground", which saw its first British broadcast on 29 November 1992 with the
Irish reunification United Ireland, also referred to as Irish reunification, is the proposition that all of Ireland should be a single sovereign state. At present, the island is divided politically; the sovereign Republic of Ireland has jurisdiction over the maj ...
line edited out. A feature-length version of " Unification" was shown on an exclusive movie channel rather than as part of this entire run. The whole series was shown again with " Descent" held over to act as the premiere to the seventh season on 31 July 1994, which was run every Sunday evenings at 7.00pm once it had completed production and was available to be shown before the last-ever episode aired on 29 January 1995. Sky One also bought the first-run rights for other ''Star Trek'' shows: * ''
Deep Space Nine ''Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' (abbreviated as ''DS9'') is an American science fiction television series created by Rick Berman and Michael Piller. The fourth series in the '' Star Trek'' media franchise, it originally aired in syndication fr ...
'' * ''
Voyager Voyager may refer to: Computing and communications * LG Voyager, a mobile phone model manufactured by LG Electronics * NCR Voyager, a computer platform produced by NCR Corporation * Voyager (computer worm), a computer worm affecting Oracle ...
'' * ''
Enterprise Enterprise (or the archaic spelling Enterprize) may refer to: Business and economics Brands and enterprises * Enterprise GP Holdings, an energy holding company * Enterprise plc, a UK civil engineering and maintenance company * Enterprise ...
'' The episodes of these later series were shown as they were in the United States with repeats between new ones, however soon held back broadcast the entire series at once, as well as various science-fiction shows that would fill the gaps including ''
Stargate SG-1 ''Stargate SG-1'' (often stylized in all caps, or abbreviated ''SG-1'') is a military science fiction adventure television series within Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's ''Stargate'' franchise. The show, created by Brad Wright and Jonathan Glassner, ...
'' and '' Andromeda''. It was moved to Sky Two for a short time, until the channel was ceased on 31 August 1997 due to poor ratings. Monday nights at 8.00pm was the traditional time for the series, however at the start of the fourth season of ''Enterprise'' was moved to Tuesdays within the place also taken by ''
The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, ...
'', which lasted until the final episode was broadcast on 2 August 2005.


Most watched

The following is a list of the ten most watched shows on Sky One, based on Live +7 data supplied by
BARB Barb or the BARBs or ''variation'' may refer to: People * Barb (name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or surname * Barb, a term used by fans of Nicki Minaj to refer to themselves * The Barbs, a band Places * Barb, ...
up to 30 November 2020, within the number of viewers does not include repeats:


References


External links

* {{Sky1 Defunct British television channels English-language television stations in the United Kingdom Sky television channels 1982 establishments in the United Kingdom 2021 disestablishments in the United Kingdom Television channels and stations established in 1982 Television channels and stations disestablished in 2021 1980s in British television 1990s in British television 2000s in British television 2010s in British television 2020s in British television History of television in the United Kingdom