Channel One (UK TV channel)

Channel One was a television channel owned and operated by Virgin Media Television and then BSkyB. The channel was launched on 1 October 2007 at 21:00 on Freeview, Virgin Media and Sky as Virgin1, replacing Ftn. The channel broadcast 24 hours on cable, satellite and Freeview; a one-hour timeshift, Channel One +1, broadcast on cable and satellite.

BSkyB acquired the channel on 4 June 2010 and rebranded it as Channel One. On 15 September 2010, BSkyB announced that it would close Channel One and sister channels Bravo and Bravo 2. Channel One's Freeview space on the multiplex was used to launch Challenge there. Channel One closed on 1 February 2011 at 06:00.

History
It was announced in the summer of 2007 that Virgin Media Television was to launch the new channel. The network had previously expressed their interest in running a general entertainment channel to coincide with the relaunch on NTL: Telewest to Virgin Media. At first, the company stated that all of their other channels including Ftn, would still run as normal, but because of Ftn having a key Freeview primetime slot, this was later changed.

The channel was launched as Virgin1 on 1 October 2007 on all platforms (Freeview, Virgin Media and Sky) replacing former Virgin Media Television channel Ftn. Some media sources have claimed that it was intended to be in direct competition with British Sky Broadcasting's flagship channel, Sky1, which in August 2010 had a 0.8% share of the market compared with Virgin1's 0.7%.

On 20 February 2008, the channel moved from Ftn's old slots 153 and 154 on Sky and took over Bravo's slots 123 and 124, which were placed higher up on the EPG. The next day, the channel went on to achieve its highest ratings thus far, with the season premiere of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles which secured a 4.2% share of multi channel viewers.

On 27 April 2009, it was announced that Virgin1 (on Freeview) would move from multiplex D to multiplex A, allowing the channel to broadcast 24 hours a day. It's vacated slot was used to launch a timeshifted version of the channel which broadcast from 18:00 to 06:00. In Wales, it was only available from 09:00 to 19:00, with the +1 service only available from 19:00.

On 14 May 2009, Virgin Media Television announced plans to revamp the channel. On 9 June 2009, it underwent a rebranding with new idents, break bumpers and onscreen identity. As part of the rebrand a mascot called Red was introduced, a puppet character from the creator of the ITV Digital Monkey.

On 20 October 2009, the channel reduced its hours on Freeview to 09:00 - 03:00, allowing Tease Me TV to launch.

From 30 October 2009, the channel briefly aired TNA iMPACT! at 21:00 (which was also shown on sister channel Bravo at the time). This was the first time wrestling has been aired on free television in the UK since 2001.

On 1 June 2010, the timeshifted version of the channel ceased broadcasting on Freeview channel 35, allowing Yesterday to extend its broadcast hours. The timeshifted service continued to operate on satellite and cable platforms, between 04:00 and 01:00 daily (the live Challenge Jackpot simulcast on Virgin1 between 00:00 and 03:00 was not timeshifted).

On 4 June 2010, British Sky Broadcasting and Virgin Media announced that they had reached an agreement for the acquisition by Sky of Virgin Media Television. Virgin1 was also a part of the deal, but was rebranded as Channel One on 3 September 2010, as the Virgin name wasn't licensed to Sky.

Closure
On 15 September 2010, BSkyB announced that it would close Channel One and its sister channels Bravo and Bravo 2. Channel One's closure was for the fact that it aired programmes of a similar type to Sky3 (which is now known as Pick TV), of which both channels were on Freeview. On the other hand, many viewers considered its closure to be the result of Sky gaining more market share from Freeview, where Channel One previously broadcast. At 06:00 on 1 February 2011, Channel One ceased broadcasting on all platforms, with many programmes moved to other Sky-owned channels. It was replaced by Challenge on Freeview.

Most watched broadcasts
The following is a list of the ten most watched shows on Channel One, based on Live +7 data supplied by BARB up to 18 October 2010. ''

Notable shows
The schedule for Channel One consisted of a mixture of American and British comedy, drama and factual programming, both acquired and commissioned. The channel was pitched between female-targeted channel Living and male-targeted channel Bravo. In addition to exclusive content, Channel One also showed some content from Living, Bravo and Challenge.