The Television Affair: Episode 2 - UK Satellite and Cable TV in The 1990s
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 28 พ.ค. 2023
- In the second episode of the Television Affair, we’ll be looking at the new channels for the 1990s. Mainly focussing on the Sky multi-channels, but also some of the channels that were free to air that you could get on Satellite. Including the demise of the children’s channel and the launch of The Box, along with game changers, Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network.
You can see episode 1 looking at the 80s here • The Television Affair:... - บันเทิง
Early QVC was fantastic. Especially Paul Lavers. I remember buying a £12 thermometer with a probe that stuck on the outside of my bedroom window, thus spending the Winter of 1993 mesmerised by knowing what the outdoor temperature was whilst snuggled in my bed with a cup of tea and... QVC on the telly. Ahhhh.
Seemed like a good deal.
You know when you come across a channel on TH-cam where the content is fascinating, the host is hilarious, and you just know it's a little bit of TH-cam magic?
That's exactly what I'm experiencing right now. Loved this! Subscribed!
Really fascinated with this series - I'd say it's on-par with the likes of Bob the Fish Productions and Applemask...
Can't wait for episode 3!
Thank you :) I really enjoy your videos and uploads too. I'm looking forward to getting episode 3 out!
Ohh nostalgia. In the early 90s I was lucky enough to have Videotron cable as mum worked there. It was cool because not only did we have more "cable channels", we also had the choice of our local ITV (TVS/Meridian) and also Thames/Carlton/LWT. That was great when London had a better film over the weekend than what was shown in the South. Even without a cable box, on UHF you could pick up BBC1 South, BBC2, ITV South, ITV London, C4, C5, Mosaic and also ITV2 when it launched. I think L!veTV might have also been possible if the TV also had a VHF 625 PAL tuner. Plug the cable coax (without dear old Jerrald) into an FM radio tuner and you could also get all the FM radio stations rebroadcast, a stereo audio feed of Sky Movies / BSB Movies I seem to recall, and "Sky Radio" the dutch music station.
Videotron were quite the pioneer really, later launching Videoway which was a rather crude by todays standards interactive TV service. Their slogan of "The best connection you'll ever make". Rather ironic given a lot of the coax cable they installed pretty shabby from what I've heard and was barely fit for the digital age when NTL/Virgin took over. I think some of the last analogue cable services were in Southampton too.
Yeah on Swindon cable we had the choice of Central, htv and tvs/meridian. I used to flick channels between the ads and the news to see the different ads and logos
Oh, you had it good with tv at the time.
I remember when Sky was FreeToAir in the early 90s. My dad bought an Amstrad SRX 200 sat receiver along with a small dish. The fun didn't last long though. Less than 2 years after most of the channels got encrypted.
Oh man, this brings back so many good memories! I must've got my first, very own, black cable box in my bedroom when I was about 15. I remember being so excited, flicking through the leaflet to select which package to buy. I remember watching a lot of Jerry Springer on Living, and Nickleodeon, but I'd forgotten about Trouble and Bravo and Paramount Comedy and the Family Channel. Ah man, I miss the 90s so much.
This is fantastic! My uncle was the only member of my family who could afford sky, and whenever he had a receiver upgrade he would give us his old box, and we would watch the free channels. Cartoon Network and TNT was my jam, it's how I became a wrestling fan, and I adore satellite TV, all the nostalgia is wonderful. I'm a real geek for it all and really fascinated by the whole history of satellite and cable tv so this video is right up my street. Thank you, I'm really looking forward to your other videos!! 😁.
Correction: TCC never launched Trouble on the channel. 1997 was when Trouble, the relaunched Bravo and Challenge TV all launched. But by 1997 anyway I presume Flextech didn't give two squats about TCC then, even going as far as to make branding say "JUST WATCH IT." in subsequent advertising campaigns like "TCC looks like Trouble"
TCC was particularly bad with the 5pm end time and no challenge/family channel/trouble follow on, which Cablelink in Ireland done. When Nick came it was a big improvement with 7pm end and they showed paramount comedy afterwards.
@@richardbutler4488 Oh yeah, because it wasn't a clean transition. Sometimes you'd have the TCC DOG on screen as opposed to the Challenge TV one, as this video somewhat displayed.
@@richardbutler4488 I remember one day in 1995 or 1996 when Cablelink forgot to switch off the TCC feed at 5pm and left The Family Channel on overnight. It was the only time I ever saw it.
@@steeviebops they seemed to have some local city information channel thing on the frequency with some think Spanish news at 8pm on the TCC. Was a waste of frequency!
@@richardbutler4488 Spot on, the Link channel. Usually had 2FM or BBC Radio 1 as the background audio over slides, but had Spanish, German and Italian news (recorded from TVE, ZDF and Rai) overnight.
Been watching Bob the Fish for ages then fell upon this series. Absolutely loving it
Can't lie, you got some wonderful quality clips right here, some rarities even. Good job shoring up much of the mid to late 90s multichannel landscape while indulging in some nostalgia, I too have strong memories of QVC and the legends of the day.
The Family Channel operated out of the old TVS studios and had access to their archives. I don't even remember The Comedy Channel.
Sky Sports was free originally and an offshoot of BSBs Sports Channel. Sky Sports Gold was a fine channel.
Ah the all clued up beeps.. Those beeps have been living in my head rent free ever since.. beepbeep.. beep I forgot the show,,., but remember the beeps lol
Your music selections on these Television Affair vids are SENSATIONAL!
I wish you could set retroactively add video chapters identifying each track.
"After merging with Virgin.....heheh!" That was awesome! 😂🤣
I think the launches of Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon were the knockout blows to TCC.
The Box was pretty neat when it launched; there wasn't anything else like that when it launched; even the MTV rotation couldn't match people requesting the same video over and over.
Thanks for showing those Nickelodeon sign-off/sign-on idents and giving me a nostalgia hit. Before Paramount was a thing didn't it timeshare with an Asian channel?
Yeah, it was called Zee TV wasn't it?
@@marcuslavaggi-bowen6539 I think so. You'd briefly see the logo before they switched over the encryption data stream.
The original Asian TV channel was formerly known as TV Asia.
It broadcast from midnight to 6am utilising the overnight downtime of Sky One Astra Channel 8 11318 GHz V polarisation Stereo 7.02 / 7.20 MHz, and switched to Sky Comedy Channel Astra Channel 26 11597 GHz V polarisation Stereo 7.02 / 7.20 MHz using 6am to 4pm.
It initially started off in the clear for a short period, then it started Videocrypt test scrambling certain programmes, eventually going to a full subscription only service, initially available to the UK (Videocrypt 1 only) except when they broadcast cricket highlights to the UK and Europe unencrypted, then when Multichoice Kaleidescope began, TV Asia adopted Videocrypt 2 scrambling for viewers on the continent and dual illuminated it's satellite transmission in VC1 and VC2 for UK and European Astra viewers.
Later on, TV Asia was bought by India's Zee TV and renamed as Zee TV, and swapped it's daytime slot to Astra 1C Channel 46 11156 GHz V polarisation Stereo 7.02 / 7.20 MHz and when Astra 1D launched, it moved to a full time transponder on that satellite and moved to all day broadcasting 7am to 12 midnight UK (8am to 1am CET).
The random Yorkshire TV segement was amazing. 'Ey up!
Edit: Calling Cartoon Network second behind Nick is fighting words though, at least amongst the mid to late millenials like myself, since we got there just in time for the Cartoon Cartoons boom (Dexter, PPG, Ed, Edd & Eddy, Courage the Cowardly Dog etc.) and Nick was having a bit of a lean period. I can get that the older millenials would side with Nick though.
Jonka, you are the next Applemask
Isn't as funny as him, though. In my opinion anyway.
Applemask is really good, i think more logical thought has also gone into his videos, and our sense of humours go down different routes.
He hasn't done the regions yet
@@danielwoodhouse5531 never say never
@@danielwoodhouse5531 applemask did satellite but not cable
Great video... Just a quickie to say that TNT didn't rebrand in to TCM... The two channels co-existed. For some reason TNT continued broadcasting on analogue satellite (briefly reinventing itself as an entertainment channel) and TCM was a digital satellite channel.
( *Edit* : "not" "alone".)
I think the reason for UK Gold's background and font being blue and white and *not gold alone*, was because *with UK Gold being a soap opera (drama) channel, it featured a lot of series containing: fights, casualties, hospitals, police and murder investigations* and ultimately emergencies.
What colours do you think of emergencies?
Answer: *Blue and White*.
The connotations wouldn't fit right if the back ground was gold.
Perhaps if the font was gold in front of a blue and white back-ground, I think that may have worked but I can understand the reason behind their colour choices.
Good to know.
What a trip down memory lane!
Its so interesting and apt that when you spoke about a channel called Trouble you played some music with lovely deep garage chords. What I'm driving at is the probably unintended link with the late Paul Trouble Anderson (U.S Garage pioneer) Thank you for these videos, right opp ma street luv.
Enjoying this in Dublin and had most of these channels from the late 80’s via Cablelink then UPC and now Virgin.
Not many other than pubs & clubs has satellite but early 00’s I got a 1.2 Triax motorised and linked to a Dreambox.
Great times now it’s all IPTV and anyone can get it which for me takes the fun out of it.
Ah well 😂
That 1996 Sky Sports 3 jingle is very underrated.
Man that brought back so many memories of watching Spanish football.
man i really wished cable/sky tv stayed like this you were spoilt for choice but at the same time weren't overwhelmed with content like we are today, thanks mainly to the internet!..
Who remembers Endurance uk on challenge with hokey and koki
I remember endurance uk 2 more than the first one. Wasn't the bit Paul Ross said at the end "come and have a go if you think you're hard enough"?
@@jonkasonic exactly - very difficult to find episodes, can’t imagine why!
@masterdanthrax ha, yes. Definitely not a show that could repeated these days, similarly not one that I'd watch these days!
I’m the brownnnnnnn
I remember how one of the presenters used to like showing the studio audience his elephant lol
Great video. I remember watching Earthworm Jim on TCC 😊😊
I was out of the loop wrestling-wise till 2003. WWE Network airs on NBC Peacock channel in the US. I used to love The Incredible Hulk when it was on when I was a little kid.
Those Nickelodeon cow clips are going to haunt my dreams
Brilliant video! Challenge did (at one point) air the TNA Impact Wrestling highlights (actually the whole tournaments, thanks to RatzaChewy for correcting me) for a while, oh and Takeshi's Castle. It's just exhausting to see it repeating endless episodes of The Chase and Dickinson's Real Deal. I do enjoy watching the old Blankety Blank episodes (with the late and great Lily Savage/Paul O'Grady).
Edit: The only reason why they did this was probably because repeats are cheaper and they're somewhat of an archive channel of old game shows.
It wasn't just highlights, they showed all of it and even commissioned British Boot Camp. For a long while they were the highest rated Wrestling show in the UK.
I will say I like your style, you've certainly found your niche, very similar to others such as Kim Justice, Stuart Ashens & Guru Larry for UK content. You do some more of these & I'm sure you'll end up going pretty far as a TH-cam creator (especially if you do them in this style to the point you'll probably give yourself a comfortable monthly income). More please, honestly they're good. 👏👍
Need to do a seperate video on the history of Quizmania. I worked late nights back then and always rushed home afterwards for Quizmania. They stuff they got away it.
Can't wait for episode 3
I'm excited for episode 3.
these are great and informative. plz keep it up!
I had cable tv in the 90s
I’m in this!!!!!!
hits me right in the 90s fees. take a bow son.
Nick also had CBBC on nick before CBBC moved to BBC Choice until the channel started broadcasting in 2002
Great video! 🤩
The misbehaving chevron made me laugh, if only YTV relaxed a bit and did stuff like that back in the day!
Just one quick correction Flextech actually closed down The Children's Channel in 1998 but the pre-school programmes originally shown on that channel as part of the Tiny TCC strand moved to Living TV in February 1997.
I liked the old sky movies logo. It really did make a point. Movies are here.
Love this. More please
perfect! very entertaining ...
While VH1 Europe was replaced by MTV 00s two years ago, the channel is still around in Italy as a free-to-air channel.
Hello Everyone, this is a bit random but does anyone remember an acoustic guitar instrumental which played as a kind of filler when channels were off the air? I remember loving it and I'd love to track it down ...
This is brilliant
The UKTV network also had the short-lived UK Play, which was music and comedy. On the Analogue NTL boxes I think I was channel 36 or something, pretty close to either MTV or The Box
You notice the early Sky indents emulate their American counterparts with a jingle and a flashy CGI. But by the time the 2000 came along that was seen as cheesy and just showed the logo.
Thanks is stopping me from getting dementia. Therapeutic portal to the past.
The cartoon network was bloody great back in the day. I loved watching the old scooby doo's. I also used to *ahem* enjoy the hilariously tacky adult films on the home video channel which run before the adult channel started at midnight (so I've been told)
MCI Worldcom wasn't a Cable company, not in the UK anyway. Did you know BT was behind MCI before it acquired the collapsing worldcom business. Today it is Verizon Business. It was national fibre network competing against Mercury/C&W and Energis. Colt,scottish Telecom,Norweb/your communications and thus also sprung up with most of these taken over by Cable & Wireless and themselves taken over by Vodafone in 2012. Vodafone is the 2nd largest fixed line communications network when you combine the amount of fibre and coverage. Virgin Media ia much smaller because it is not fibre to the premises and most customers are residential ones
Hi mate, did you study at Chippenham college? I randomly just came across your channel while looking into some old media stuff. We never really connected but I think we studied there at the same time 2007 - 2013. Great channel
Yes I did, way back in 2009 - 2011
You must have been a year above but I did National Diploma, you must have been in the same year as Emma and Chloe
@@jonkasonic Thats right :) - shame we didn't connect as we seemingly have a-lot of similar interests. Enjoying your channel a-lot.
"It would be on every toast"
RIP people allergic to dairy
Do you remember when Sale of the Century and Sally Jesse Raphael were on Sky One? Also didn't Dungeons and Dragons air on The Children's Channel?
Can you mention TVI and the Vidéoway/Tron boxes?
*GASP* I used to LOVE Denver the Last Dinosaur!
I was probably the first person in the UK to get SKY in Feb 1989
10:07 what’s the thing with the cm for the tv 📺 did they not want to push the inches 😅
It was part of European law at the time. No metric. Didin't last long TV is always done in inches
Watching tv about tv on tv
Oh yes!. Filmnet and Teleclub!. My aunt in Wales managed to get Filmnet somehow.
Hi. You mentioned bravo in the above. It started as a broadcast channel in 1990 on Intelsat, and yes added to sky in 1993. Btw if you do a future video, it may. E worth pointing out sky digital actual start was 23 June 1998, full launch 1 October 1998, Sky analogue service had just 2 channels left on it at the time if it's closure on 37 September 2091. Sky one and Sky movies Screen 1 (originally Sky Movies). Sky news in analogue ended 30 June 2001.
Anglia that’s my region I remember the flag fondly
Great series. . What is the first bit of music used in this please? It’s great. Probably a bit of library music.
We got Sky in about 1990 when I was ten on Xmas day and that night I set the video to record Predator and Aliens - so awesome.
This one? th-cam.com/video/uHfeWina9tI/w-d-xo.html&ab_channel=JamesAsher-Topic
Would you be able to do anything on the channel Wire TV that was a cable channels on cable tv in the UK.
Yeah, I thought Sky should have renamed SyFy as "Sky-Fi" too!
Jon, Magic TV launched in 2001!
sky-fi
Subbed just because of the YTV chevron being a pest
You need to use the Welsh clockwork dragon s4c scholls ident idea or at least the music. S4c idents are so underrated
The YTV Chevron is only doing gods work 😉
This is reminiscent of TV Offal
I speficicly got sky in 2004.
My mother said when i was young maybe 4/6 in about 91/93 i washed rhe sky box thinking i was helping...😭😂
What happened yo these channels
Can somone check in on Spain, they don't look very settled to me.
14:13 14:14
That is brilliant
I hated the sight of All Clued Up
They made Sky Sports a Pay tv channel in 1992
So they re-used that cube box in All Clued Up for itv's The Cube 😂😅
sky one
UK living
Bravo
sky movies
sky premiere
you forgot Live TV again :O
Steve whatley committed suicide
POOR LITTLE RISHI SUNAK 🤡
All down hill after virgin bought it!
man i really wished cable/sky tv stayed like this you were spoilt for choice but at the same time weren't overwhelmed with content like we are today, thanks mainly to the internet!..