Great! TV (stylized as GREAT! tv) is a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

television channel in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

owned by Narrative Entertainment UK Limited. It originally launched as Sony Entertainment Television on 7 April 2011. However, it was closed on 6 February 2018 and replaced by Sony Crime Channel. It was brought back for a second time on 10 September 2019 when it replaced

True Entertainment True Entertainment was a British free-to-air television channel that was launched on 3 August 2009, replacing Showcase TV. The change was originally scheduled to happen on 1 July 2009, but a late change put the change "on hold until further no ...

. The relaunched Sony Channel had different idents and programming than the former due to inheriting some programming from its predecessor True Entertainment and on 25 May 2021, following Narrative Capital's acquisition of Sony's channels, it was rebranded as Great! TV.

History

BT agreed a deal with Sony Pictures Television to offer its programming

on-demand On-demand or on demand may refer to: Manufacturing * Build-on-demand * Just-in-time manufacturing, a methodology for production * Print on demand, printing technology and business process in which new copies of a document are not printed until an ...

BT Vision EE TV (formerly BT Vision and then BT TV until 2023) is a subscription IPTV service offered by EE; a brand of British telecommunications company BT Group. It requires the signing up to and use of the EE Broadband internet and phone service, w ...

from 1 March 2010. The move marked Sony's debut in the UK market, over a year ahead of the launch of the Sony Entertainment Television channel. Sony Entertainment Television also appeared on TalkTalk TV during the YouView platform launch in 2012, but was later removed. Sony Pictures Television acquired channel 157 on

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

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 fo ...

, previously owned by Film 24, in November 2010. A one-hour

timeshift channel A timeshift channel or time-shift channel (sometimes referred to as a +1 channel) is a television channel carrying time-delayed reruns of its "parent" channel's programming. This channel runs alongside its parent: the term ''timeshift'' does not ...

was also available from launch after the purchase of

Open Access 3 Open or OPEN may refer to: Music * Open (band), Australian pop/rock band * The Open (band), English indie rock band * ''Open'' (Blues Image album), 1969 * ''Open'' (Gerd Dudek, Buschi Niebergall, and Edward Vesala album), 1979 * ''Open'' (Got ...

's Sky EPG slot on channel 190. Both Film 24 and Open Access 3 closed on 4 April 2011, to make way for previews of Sony Entertainment Television. On 15 December 2011, Sony Entertainment Television was added to

Virgin Media Virgin Media Limited 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 ...

. On 2 April 2012, Sony Entertainment Television +1 moved to

Current TV Current TV was an American television channel which broadcast from August 1, 2005, to August 20, 2013. Prior INdTV founders Al Gore and Joel Hyatt, with Ronald Burkle, each held a sizable stake in Current TV. Comcast and DirecTV each held a small ...

's former Sky EPG slot on channel 183, with channel 190 used to launch Men&Movies +1. On 3 July 2012, Sony Entertainment Television +1 moved to channel 181. The channel was rebranded as Sony Channel on 12 January 2016, but closed on 6 February 2018 to be replaced by

Sony Crime Channel Sony Crime Channel was a British free-to-air television channel, focusing on crime television programmes and documentaries. It was launched on 6 February 2018 and was owned by Sony Pictures Television. It aired crime programming targeted at a fem ...

on Sky and Virgin Media. The last programme on the channel was an episode of

Saving Hope ''Saving Hope'' is a Canadian supernatural medical drama television series set in Toronto in the fictional hospital Hope Zion. The series stars Erica Durance and Michael Shanks. The show's premise originated with Malcolm MacRury and Morwyn Br ...

. On 24 July 2019, it was announced that Sony Channel would be relaunched and would replace its predecessor

from 10 September 2019. The channel replaced True Entertainment on all platforms (

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), a ...

48, Sky 157,

Freesat Freesat is a British free-to-air satellite television service, first formed as a joint venture between the BBC and ITV plc and now owned by Everyone TV (itself owned by all of the four UK Public broadcasting, public service broadcasters, BBC, ...

142, Virgin 189), with the last programme shown on True Entertainment being an episode of Highway to Heaven. Due to Narrative Capital acquiring SPT's full UK portfolio on 14 May 2021, the 4 Sony-branded free-to-air channels in the UK adopted the Great! branding on 25 May 2021. As a result, the channel was rebranded as Great! TV. On 21 June 2023, Great! TV moved from a local TV multiplex on Freeview to the COM6 multiplex, thereby making the channel more widely available in more areas on Freeview. On 20 November 2024, Great! TV +1 was replaced by the Great! Player streaming service on Freeview channel 63.

Programming

Original

The original Sony Channel was aimed at women aged between 25 and 54 and broadcast a range of dramas and comedies, including '' Hawthorne'', '' Huff'', and ''

'Til Death ''Til Death'' is an American sitcom that aired on Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox from September 7, 2006, to June 20, 2010. The series was created by husband and wife team Josh Goldsmith and Cathy Yuspa, who were also the writers and executive pr ...

''. Sony Entertainment Television also brought UK series '' Hustle'' and '' Hotel Babylon'', along with the last season of ''

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

'' and reruns of ''

Crossing Jordan ''Crossing Jordan'' is an American crime drama television series created by Tim Kring, that aired on NBC from September 24, 2001, to May 16, 2007. It stars Jill Hennessy as Dr. Jordan Cavanaugh, a crime-solving forensic pathologist employed ...

'', ''

Dawson's Creek ''Dawson's Creek'' is an American teen drama television series about the lives of a close-knit group of friends in the fictional town of Capeside, Massachusetts, beginning in high school and continuing into college. It aired from January 20, 19 ...

'', ''

My Boys ''My Boys'' is an American television sitcom that debuted on November 28, 2006, on TBS (American TV channel), TBS. The show deals with a sports columnist in Chicago, Illinois, played by Jordana Spiro, and the men in her life, including her brot ...

'', ''

Ned and Stacey ''Ned and Stacey'' is an American sitcom created by Michael J. Weithorn, and starring Thomas Haden Church and Debra Messing as the eponymous couple. The series lasted two seasons, airing on Fox from September 11, 1995, to January 27, 1997. E ...

'', and ''

NewsRadio ''NewsRadio'' is an American television sitcom that aired on NBC from March 21, 1995, to May 4, 1999, focusing on the work lives of the staff of a New York City AM news radio station. It had an ensemble cast featuring Dave Foley, Stephen R ...

''. It also showed movies from SET's parent company

Sony Pictures Entertainment Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. is an American diversified multinational mass media and entertainment studio conglomerate that produces, acquires, and distributes filmed entertainment (theatrical motion pictures, television programs, and rec ...

, such as ''

The Da Vinci Code ''The Da Vinci Code'' is a 2003 mystery thriller novel by Dan Brown. It is “the best-selling American novel of all time.” Brown's second novel to include the character Robert Langdon—the first was his 2000 novel '' Angels & Demons''� ...

'', ''

All the King's Men ''All the King's Men'' is a 1946 novel by Robert Penn Warren. The novel tells the story of charismatic populist governor Willie Stark and his political machinations in the Depression-era Deep South. It was inspired by the real-life story of U. ...

'', ''

Marie Antoinette Marie Antoinette (; ; Maria Antonia Josefa Johanna; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was the last List of French royal consorts, queen of France before the French Revolution and the establishment of the French First Republic. She was the ...

'', and ''

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

''. From September 2011, ''

Holby City ''Holby City'' (stylised on-screen as HOLBY CIY) is a British medical drama television series that aired weekly on BBC One. It was created by Tony McHale and Mal Young as a Spin-off (media), spin-off from the established BBC medical drama '' ...

'' began airing on Sony Entertainment Television. On 16 May 2012, Sony Entertainment Television began showing BBC Spy drama '' Spooks'' from series 1. It was announced on 2 August 2012, that Sony Entertainment Television acquired the rights to broadcast ''

Hot in Cleveland ''Hot in Cleveland'' is an American television sitcom aired on TV Land and starring Valerie Bertinelli, Jane Leeves, Wendie Malick, and Betty White. The series, which was TV Land's first original series, premiered on June 16, 2010, and was ...

'' in the UK and Ireland, and it showed

season 3 A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pol ...

on 14 September 2012,

season 1 Season One may refer to: Albums * ''Season One'' (Suburban Legends album), 2004 * ''Season One'' (All Sons & Daughters album), 2012 * ''Season One'' (Saukrates album), 2012 See also * * * Season 2 (disambiguation) Season 2 may refer to: ...

and

season 2 Season 2 may refer to: * ''Season 2'' (Infinite album), 2014 * ''2econd Season'', an album by Unk, 2008 * "Season 2", a song by Phoenix from ''Alpha Zulu ''Alpha Zulu'' is the seventh studio album by French indie pop band Phoenix, released on 4 ...

had already been broadcast on

Sky Living Sky Living was a British pay television television channel, channel owned and operated by Sky Limited, Sky. The channel's programming was aimed mainly at women and young adults. It originally launched as UK Living yet became Sky Living by 2011. H ...

. The channel also broadcast the American sitcom ''

Community A community is a social unit (a group of people) with a shared socially-significant characteristic, such as place, set of norms, culture, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given g ...

'', ITV's ''

Secret Diary of a Call Girl ''Secret Diary of a Call Girl'' is a British drama television series that aired from 27 September 2007 to 22 March 2011 on ITV2, based on the blog and books by the pseudonymous Belle de Jour. It stars Billie Piper as Belle, a high-end call ...

'' and the BBC's highly successful '' Ashes to Ashes'' and ''

Life on Mars The possibility of life on Mars is a subject of interest in astrobiology due to the planet's proximity and similarities to Earth. To date, no conclusive evidence of past or present life has been found on Mars. Cumulative evidence suggests that ...

''. The channel started to broadcast the UK TV premieres of various other programmes including '' The Night Shift'', ''

'', '' Younger'', '' Satisfaction'' and ''

Orange Is the New Black ''Orange Is the New Black'' (sometimes abbreviated to ''OITNB'') is an American comedy-drama television series created by Jenji Kohan for Netflix. The series is based on Piper Kerman's memoir '' Orange Is the New Black: My Year in a Women's Pr ...

''. Paranormal content on the former channel included '' Ghost Hunters'', ''

Ghost Hunters International ''Ghost Hunters International'' (abbreviated as ''GHI'') is a spin-off series of '' Ghost Hunters'' that aired on Syfy (formerly Sci-Fi). The series premiered on January 9, 2008, and ended on April 4, 2012. Like its parent series, ''GHI'' was ...

'' and ''

Celebrity Ghost Stories ''Celebrity Ghost Stories'' is an American paranormal reality television series that debuted on October 3, 2009, with the pilot airing on September 26, 2009. Its first four seasons aired on The Biography Channel with the fifth airing on Lifetime M ...

''. In 2017, the channel began to broadcast repeats of ''

America's Got Talent ''America's Got Talent'' (often abbreviated as ''AGT'') is an American talent show competition, and is part of the global ''Got Talent'' franchise created by Simon Cowell. The program is produced by Fremantle (as well as distributed by) and ...

''.

Relaunch

The relaunched Sony Channel (which later became Great! TV) retained some programming from its predecessor channel, True Entertainment, but added more Sony-owned programmes to the schedule.

Great! Real

Great! Real (stylized as GREAT! real) is a British terrestrial TV channel owned by Narrative Entertainment UK Limited which launched in 20 March 2024 and served as a replacement for

Tiny Pop Tiny Pop (styled as tiny POP) is a British free-to-air television channel, owned by Narrative Entertainment UK Limited. Broadcast on many of the major digital television platforms in the UK, Tiny Pop, which was launched on 8 September 2003 as ...

, Sky and Virgin.

History

In February 2024, it was announced that Narrative Entertainment UK Limited would launch a new channel concept called Great! Real in March, featuring

reality television Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring ordinary people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 1990s ...

content. The network launched test transmissions on 5 March 2024, before an official launch of 20 March, replacing Tiny Pop, which would move to online-only distribution. The service would only last five months before closing on 20 August 2024 to make way for the return of

to terrestrial distribution. It later returned in October as a FAST channel service.

Great! Mystery

Great! Mystery is a British terrestrial TV channel operating as a FAST service, along with Freeview availability on channel 61 carrying mystery films and series. Great! Mystery originally launched alongside Narrative Entertainment's children's service POP Up in May 2024 via Samsung TV Plus, LG Channels and Plex.

References

External links

* {{Freeview English-language television stations in the United Kingdom Sony Pictures Television Sony Entertainment Television Television channels in the United Kingdom Television channels and stations established in 2011 Television channels and stations disestablished in 2018 Television channels and stations established in 2019 2011 establishments in the United Kingdom 2018 disestablishments in the United Kingdom 2019 establishments in the United Kingdom