The Movie Channel (British TV channel)
For the unrelated American service, see The Movie Channel
| Ownership | |
|---|---|
| Owner | BSB (Later BSkyB) |
The Movie Channel was a British television channel, which only showed movies. Launched on BSB in 1990, The Movie Channel was a predecessor of some of the Sky Movies channels, having survived the merger with Sky Television, another satellite service launched by Rupert Murdoch's News International later in 1990 to form British Sky Broadcasting.
After the merger, The Movie Channel continued to broadcast until 1997 when it was rebranded as Sky Movies Screen 2, Sky Premier, Movies Premier, Sky Movies 2 and now Sky Movies Premiere +1, the timeshift channel to Sky Movies Premiere.
History
The Movie Channel began in 1990 as one of the channels of British Satellite Broadcasting, a consortium formed in 1986 by Granada Television, Pearson, Virgin, Anglia Television and Amstrad. One of its first film premieres was the James Bond film, The Living Daylights, starring Timothy Dalton[1].
In 1990, BSB and Sky Television suffered heavy losses and merged, operating as the newly-formed British Sky Broadcasting. The Movie Channel, along with The Sports Channel, remained on air, keeping its name. The Movie Channel was rebranded in 1997 as part of a rebranding exercise, in which Sky required all of its channels to have their own look and identification. It has since been rebranded as Sky Movies Premier, Sky Movies 2, and currently Sky Movies Premiere +1, the timeshift channel to Sky Movies Premiere.
Logos
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Logo during the BSB era, 1990 -
Logo after Sky merger
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Logo after rebrand to "Sky Movies Screen 2"
