UKTV Style Gardens to launch Feb 21st?

I wouldn't put it past them! What about UKTV Regions? Past clips of BBC regional news programmes? There's a niche market....

That was entirely unintentionally coincidental!

I don't really get why we need UKTV Food/Gardens/Style when the programming could all be put under the UKTV Bright Ideas channel umbrella. UKTV Bright Ideas shows the majority of programmes from these channels but on a 3-4hr block that is just repeated through the day.

If you ask me, they would do just as well to have just one channel showing the programmes once or twice a day - therefore freeing up 2 Top-Up TV channels and improving a Freeview one.

More info on this new channel from Sky Digi Online:

UKTV confirm new "garden" channel launch
Jan 21, 2005 01:48 PM
UKTV today announced the launch of UKTV Style Gardens, an exciting new addition to the UKTV network providing expert advice and inspiration to gardeners throughout the year.

Launching on Monday 21st March, UKTV Style Gardens will feature a strong programme line-up fronted by the biggest names in horticulture. Gardeners’ World will take viewers step by step through the horticultural calendar and access to the ultimate gardening experts, whilst Ground Force and Garden Invaders will provide entertaining and creative ideas. There will also be programmes for viewers who are interested in broader outdoor pursuits and pleasures such as Bill Oddie Goes Wild and A Year At Kew.

As a result, Charlotte Ashton, Director of Network Programming Strategy, believes UKTV Style Gardens will quickly become a channel of choice for its target market. “Bringing over 20 years of gardening expertise to viewers, UKTV Style Gardens will provide inspiration for its target audiences - from all weather gardeners, to those who want simple solutions, to armchair gardeners. With UKTV Style, UKTV Food, UKTV Bright Ideas and now UKTV Style Gardens, we are undoubtedly offering the best choice of quality lifestyle programming”.

The launch of UKTV Style Gardens, will give UKTV Style the opportunity to focus its programming on more personal makeover series such as such as Who Do You Think You Are?, What Not To Wear, and Get A New Life.

UKTV Style Gardens launches on Monday 21st March on EPG 144 and will transmit daily from 07:00 – 01:00.

So it looks like it is March 21st instead..........

Since when has Who Do You Think You Are? been a makeover series?

I'd better explain, as we had this problem when going through the EPG.
We though we'd be watching one of the BBC's excellently produced programmes, it turned out to be Paul Roseby transforming a woman into a new woman, or something like that anyway. Same title, totally different programme.

Overall I see the idea of moving garden programmes over to make way for more lifestyle ones, though I don't see how they're going to fill both channels.

Someone on a Digital Spy thread on this topic who claims he works in TV says that UKTV Style Gardens WILL launch on Monday 21st February and not on March 21st . This would make sense as TV listings are showing that UKTV Style isnt showing any gardening programming from Feb 21st onwards .

It still puzzles me why BBC Four can't use more of the stuff that UK Arena used to show, that UK Gold won't touch with a bargepole, like 'Marty', Spike Milligan & everybody's favourite(& I'm eagerly awaiting the next DVD !) 'The Goodies' !

An engineering test for UKTV Style Gardens has appeared on 11.817 V on Sky Digital. So it looks like the channel MIGHT launch on Monday 21st February. Channels dont usually take 5 weeks to test so i doubt it will be March 21st.

Schedules were released yesterday showing 21st Mar launch.

But apparently the channel will launch on the EPG on Feb 21st as a soft launch and fully launch on March 21st.
UKTV Style listings dont show any gardening programmes from FEBRUARY 21st. Which is obviously the handover date of all gardening programmes to UKTV Style Gardens.

Any schedules on internet yet?