Flextech

For two decades Flextech was a player in multichannel pay-TV sector.

Flextech portfolio of channels included Living, Bravo, Challenge, Trouble/TCC, Ftn/Virgin 1/Channel One and 50% stake in UKTV.

The channels had their own identity, catering to all tastes in the similar vein to what Viacom and Time Warner have done over the years.

In the later years the operation now know as Virgin Media TV went off on a tangent, they closed down Trouble and made budget cuts to Challenge, I think they were putting more effort to Living channels.

Shame Sky took over VM channels and closed Bravo and Channel One and Living was rebranded as Sky Living, Virgin stake in UKTV was sold off a year later.

Flextech offered variety of US style channel brands that is lacking from the multichannel pay-TV sector these days.

And your point is?

Sky taking over was the best thing that has happened to Challenge[TV] since 1997 (Karaoke Challenge).

As much as it pains me to accept it, it's true.

It is odd that Sky chose to buy out a rival group of channels (for a huge sum) then close half of it down. They could have turned Sky 3 in to Bravo (and they could have kept TNA while they were at it!).

Oh, hello Paul Akinbola.