Sky's Branding

I guess from a Sky user's point of view it would have looked weird for there to be a Sky3+1 in the EPG but no Sky1 and 2 +1.

Back when it first launched Sky3 was really good and they put some effort into the schedule but it did come dangerously close to beating Sky1's viewing share at its height which would have been a bit embarrassing for them. That's when the programme quality (purposefully) declined to the standard they've got today. I suppose by re-branding it without the Sky name they could try improving the quality again, making some cash out of the free to air/view rights that they have to their various Sky1 programmes without it being quite as embarrassing if and when the viewing share eclipses Sky1.

Though clearly right now they're not making any effort with the schedule!

Considering the rebrand I'm surprised Sky2 has survived considering they toyed with making it Sky1+1 a year or so ago, although I think it's moved away from that again.

I know it's pedantics but I think they'd have been better off closing Sky3 and relaunching Channel One as Pick TV - taking the pick from both services, rather than just rebranding Sky3. Even with their free channels though Sky are highlighting exactly why they shouldn't have been allowed to buy out the Virgin/Living TV Group - they've used their dominance to remove a channel which offered an admittedly limited amount of recent content new to Freeview and replaced it with a channel stuck in the 90's.

In all fairness to Sky, some might actually find the new Freeview line-up a tad better with the introduction of Challenge. How has Challenge rated against Virgin1/Channel One? I'd not be surprised if daytime ratings were significantly up.

During Channel One's final week, their top 10 programmes ranged between 180,000 and 328,000 viewers.

During Challenge's first week on Freeview, their top 10 ranged between 88,000 and 121,000.

That seems to indicated that Virgin1/Channel One was more popular.

Indeed so! Still, what about daytime audiences?

Sadly the truth is Sky really don't seem to want their freeview offerings to be popular, and sees them purely as a method for delivering advertising on freeview.

Channel One had some variety in it's entertainment programmes and had a high position in the DTT EPG, of course it would get high-ish ratings. Challenge is lower down the DTT EPG, requires a rescan, shows a lot of old gameshows and has a shoestring budget, of course ratings will take a knock, I doubt that Sky will be bothered too much.

Add to that the lack of any promotion about its appearance on Freeview, save for a few obscure website entries.

But ATV's ident did have a metaphor and central focal point, otherwise it'd just be a static logo like Border had. I suppose simple minds need simple concepts to cling onto and wax nostalgically about, eh lads?

The soundtrack for the sky1 idents has changed, I will upload an example soon. Edited for Malpass.

Yesterday I noticed it is like the same since the relaunch but a different tone perhaps?

Was it at all possible for that post (of almost a whole line) to not have plugged your site?