ITV4

ITV4 is a British television station which was launched on 1 November 2005. It is owned by ITV Digital Channels Ltd, a division of ITV plc, and is part of the ITV network. The channel has a male-oriented line-up, including sport, cop shows and US comedies and dramas, as well as classic ITV action series of the 1960s and 1970s. ITV4 is broadcast on Freeview, satellite, cable and IPTV platforms.

History


It was expected that ITV4 would replace the existing Men & Motors channel in the same way Granada Plus was rebranded into ITV3, until ITV plc stated that the two channels would run alongside each other, forcing the ITV News Channel on Freeview to timeshare with ITV4. ITV replaced the failing News Channel with CITV. Both channels were on Freeview until ITV plc took Men & Motors off Freeview (although it remained on other platforms for some time until April 2010) and replaced it with the live quiz channel ITV Play. Some programming from Men & Motors were transferred to ITV4. ITV4 was the first channel to use the new on-screen look that was rolled out across the rest of ITV plc's channels on 16 January 2006. Red Bee Media designed the new logos and presentation for the entire corporation that saw the end of the yellow and blue squared look designed for ITV1, ITV2 and the cube look for ITV3. An ITV annual report revealed that an old style logo was designed for the channel but was never used on air.

ITV4 was launched on UPC Ireland in the Republic of Ireland on 4 January 2010, marking the first time the channel has been officially available in the country. The channel had already been (and remains) available to Irish viewers on free-to-air satellite for some time, however it has not been listed in the Sky electronic programme guide since its removal on 25 January 2006. On 1 April 2011, ITV4 was removed from UPC Ireland along with ITV2 and ITV3 due to the expiry of a carriage agreement between UPC and ITV. UPC Ireland claim that ITV is not in a position to renegotiate the deal because ITV had struck a deal with another channel provider to provide it with exclusive rights to air certain content from the channels. Conversely, UPC Ireland also claims to have been in discussions right up to the last moment in order to continue broadcasting the channels. ITV2, ITV3 and ITV4 were restored to the UPC Ireland line-up on 20 December 2011. TV3 Ireland and its sister channel 3e already hold carriage agreement to air certain ITV content within the Republic of Ireland, alternatively UTV is available within the Republic. ITV2 is available along with ITV3 and ITV4 within Switzerland, all three channels are available on SwisscomTV and UPC Cablecom.

Launch
ITV4's launch night was on Freeview channel 30. Although it was broadcast on the Astra 2D satellite used by Sky, so users could manually tune it in. It was launched on Sky channel 120, after ITV2 and ITV3 in the listings, on 7 November. Prior to this date, some sporting content was simulcast on Men & Motors in an ITV4 on M&M strand.

ITV4 +1
In late October 2008 it was announced that a timeshifted (+1) version of ITV4 would be launched by the end of the year. ITV4 +1 was launched on Sky on 1 December 2008, on Freesat on 9 December 2008 and on Virgin Media on 25 March 2010. It was removed from Sky on 11 January 2011, due to the launch of ITV1 +1 taking up space on the EPG; the channel continued to be available on Freesat and Virgin Media. On 31 May 2012, ITV4 +1 returned to Sky, taking a lower EPG slot.

ITV4 HD
A high-definition simulcast of ITV4, ITV4 HD, was launched on 15 November 2010 on Sky. The channel is available through Sky's pay subscription in a non-exclusive deal, ITV has held talks with other providers including Virgin Media. ITV4 HD's high definition content includes films, and sports events such as the British Touring Car Championship, 2010-11 Ashes Series, Tour de France, Grand Slam of Darts, UEFA Europa League, and Indian Premier League Cricket.

Freeview
As Freeview announced plans for a retune on 30 September 2009, ITV4 moved to an alternative multiplex. Viewers in areas that have completed switchover who receive their signal from a local relay transmitter and receive 'Freeview Lite', are no longer able to receive ITV4.

Some programmes shown on ITV4

 * Auf Wiedersehen, Pet
 * Batman
 * Big Match Revisited
 * The Force
 * Jericho
 * Homicide: Life on the Street
 * Jean-Claude Van Damme: Behind Closed Doors
 * LAPD: Life on the Beat
 * Martial Law
 * Miami Vice


 * Millennium
 * Minder
 * Police Camera Action!
 * The Professionals
 * Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased)
 * Real Prison Breaks
 * Richard Bacon's Beer & Pizza Club
 * The Saint
 * The Sweeney
 * UFO

Past programmes on ITV4
In a change of pace, in June 2007, ITV4 aired The Winner.

ITV4 used to air the Late Show with David Letterman from 1 November 2005 until it was dropped by the channel on 27 October 2006 and replaced with Saturday Night Live from 4 November 2006.

Sports coverage
Before ITV4s launch in 2005 ITVs digital sports coverage was on ITV2 but after its launch all sports coverage has moved to itv4

ITV4s Sporting coverage includes:

FOOTBALL
 * UEFA Europa League (Live and Highlights 2005 until at least 2015)
 * UEFA Champions League (2nd exclusive match on itv4 2005-2008) (Now just 1 match on itv1 and highlights on itv4)
 * FA Cup replays (2009-2010)
 * FA Community Shield - Highlights (Since 2008)
 * FA Trophy final (2009) (Now on Sky Sports)
 * 2006 FIFA World Cup - Live and highlights
 * Euro 2008 - Live and Highlights
 * 2010 FIFA World Cup - Live and highlights
 * International Friendlies and Play-Offs - 2010-present
 * Champions League, England internationals and FA Cup (highlights and reruns of matches shown on ITV1)
 * Legends Football - 2008-present
 * 2012 African Cup of Nations
 * Euro 2012 - Live and highlights

BOAT RACE
 * The Boat Race (2005-2009 highlights) (Now on BBC SPORT)

CYCLING
 * Tour de France (from 2005 until at least 2013)
 * Tour of Ireland
 * Tour of Britain Cycling (Until 2013)
 * Vuelta a Espana (2011-present)
 * Tour of California (2011-present)

POKER
 * World Poker Tour

MOTORSPORT
 * Isle of Man TT (from 2009-present)
 * British Touring Car Championship (from 2005-present)
 * DTM (from 2012 - highlights)
 * British Superbikes (from 2005-2007 Live) and (from highlights from 2009-present) (Live on British Eurosport)
 * Motorsport UK (Highlights 2005-present)
 * F1 (2005-2008 - Highlights and reruns) (Now on BBC SPORT)
 * GP2 (2005-2008 Live and highlights) (Now on British Eurosport)
 * World Rally Championship (2005-2008 - Highlights) (Now on ESPN)

DARTS
 * Grand Slam of Darts (2007-2010) (Now on Sky Sports)
 * European Championship (darts) - 2008, 2011-present
 * Players Championship Finals (2009-2010, 2011-present)

CRICKET
 * Indian Premier League Cricket (From 2010 until 2014 at least)
 * Ashes Cricket (Highlights 2010-2011)

BOXING
 * Big Fight Live
 * Frank Warren fights 2005-2008 (Now on BoxNation)
 * Hennessey fights 2008-2010 (Now on Channel 5 and Primetime)
 * Undercard of main fight usually shown on itv4 with main event on itv1 with all fights from 2008-2010 on itv4

TENNIS
 * French Open Tennis (From 2012)
 * Masters Tennis from the Royal Albert Hall

RUGBY UNION
 * Rugby World Cup in 2007, 2011 and 2015
 * Rugby union's Guinness Premiership highlights (2008-present) (Live on ESPN and Sky Sports)
 * Heineken Cup highlights (2010-present) (Live on Sky Sports)
 * LV Cup Highlights (2010-present) (Live on Sky Sports)

SNOOKER
 * Power Snooker 2010-present

Indian Premier League
In a deal announced on Thursday, March 4, 2010, ITV secured UK broadcast rights to the 2010 Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket competition, to be shown exclusively on ITV4. The deal, for the third season of IPL, saw ITV4 broadcast 59 live, free to air, matches over the 45 day season. Live coverage, produced by ITV Sport, was presented by Matt Smith alongside Bollywood actress and presenter Mandira Bedi, who hosted Cricket World Cup coverage in India. They were joined by renowned analyst Simon Hughes and other guest experts. The IPL has a bespoke section of the ITV.com website. The tournament was supported by a prominent marketing campaign on ITV. Announcing the deal, ITV’s Director of Digital Channels and Acquisitions, Zai Bennett said: “In only two years, the Indian Premier League has already established itself as one of the world’s most high profile and exciting sports events which attracts some of the very best cricketers from around the globe. It’s an exciting acquisition for one of the UK’s fastest growing digital channels and we’re delighted to be able to offer the whole tournament free-to-air to our viewers.” Lalit Modi, Chairman and Commissioner of the IPL said: “This is a hugely significant deal for the IPL. It is a truly global competition unlike any other, ideally suited to the British passion for both cricket and entertainment. As such, we are delighted that ITV have recognised the game’s appeal and that the glorious spectacle of every game will be available in full, free to air, throughout the UK.”

ITV4's coverage of the tournament continued in the 2011 season.