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Considering the last seven posts on this blog are all ABC related, its probably time for something different. Thankfully a new look Sky Three went on air last week in the UK.
Sky Three is a free to air digital network available throughout the UK, and is meant to be an accompaniment to the subscription only Sky One and Sky Two channels.
While it seems an odd proposition for a subscription service to launch a free to air channel, presumably its programming and promotion is meant to encourage take up the pay only services, I guess it would be like Australia’s Fox8 launching a free to air Fox9 in a bid to increase subscription television take up?
Check out Sky Three’s old look, and more of the new look here.
- Thanks for the videos Craig.
You are correct on what SKY Three is mate
Also FOX9 wouldn’t be called that would it since the only reason its called FOX8 since there is no Eight Network?
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You’re right on Sky Three, but probably worth explaining it:
Freeview: “digital tv through your aerial”. Free, around 50 channels. Includes Sky Three (but notably not Sky One or Two); and also Sky News, which is a rather fuller service than that in Australia.
Sky: “digital tv through a minidish”. Most channels are subscription: Sky Three is a subscription service here (though free if you get Sky One). Sky News is free.
Sky Three never gets any programmes first (that’s Sky One), but does carry a good amount of reruns of many, but not all, of Sky One’s major programmes.
So why do they make both these channels available for free on Freeview?
Sky is in less homes than Freeview. Sky News and Sky Three, I’d wager, have less paid-for ads than many of their channels. However, they fill their ad breaks with ads for Sky Movies, Sky One, Sky Arts, and all the other Sky brands they have. Sky News promotes, like mad, their (quite good) interactive news service, which is only available on digital satellite. Sky Three promotes, like mad, what’s on the other Sky entertainment channels. And while I don’t know how much it costs to get on Freeview if you’re a TV service, it strikes me that this is some of the best advertising and marketing money they could possibly spend.
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Unfortunatly because Sky are so terrified of Freeview they want to take Sky Three, Sky News and Sky Sports News off the platform and launch a subscription service with four timeshifted channels (pointless and a waste of money). An Ofcom investigation into the public’s opinions of Sky’s plans have been overwhelmingly negative at the idea of the subscription service but despite this, it could well go ahead since News Corp and Murdoch have such control over the government.
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I really prefer the new look over the old one.
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looks really nice, though I wonder why all of the other sky networks in the world look diferent from one another.
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I like the new look. The last Sky idents looked a bit plain. Good to see some good old fashioned CGI idents.
They’re still NOTHING compared to the Sky idents of the 90’s. They were all just so big budget, epic and exciting. A bit too American, but I suppose that made them original in amongst the UK networks of the time
http://www2.tv-ark.org.uk/skytv/index.html
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In response to Melissa Adkins, they’re different companies altogether.
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Sky One and Sky Two also received a new look, similar to this, with their own colours however.
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The ident seems an improvment but I just wish channels would take away the on screen logos and just leave the Idents for ad breaks ect. Sky usually isnt the worst culprit though as at least they do put some thought into their idents.
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I think these new indent are terrible against the 2005 ones. I don’t like them because 1 the music is positivly terrible. 2. They are too clinical and cold.
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I’m not really fond of their old urban look. *That* look felt cold…
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I found new screenshots of Sky Three
http://www.ic-zaps.net/zap.php?nr=3400
http://www.ic-zaps.net/zap.php?nr=3399
http://www.ic-zaps.net is nice site for satellite freaks
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This is an ‘interim’ rebrand – it’s just glossing up the existing look. Late 2008 will see the launch of a brand new identity for Sky One/Two and Three. I can’t wait to see what it is and hopefully we’ll see the last of that horrible typeface used in the logo that is practically illegible!
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you got to put new sky1 sky2 and sky3 idents now.
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The Sky3’s typeface is very similiar with BBC Three’s current logo…
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