Ftn
Encyclopedia
Ftn was a television channel
from Virgin Media Television (formerly known as Flextech) transmitting free-to-air on Freeview and Virgin Media
, and as a subscription channel on Sky Digital
. The channel was broadcast between 18:00 and 06:00 daily. It launched at 18:00 on 15 January 2003, six hours after neighbouring Freeview channel, UKTV Bright Ideas
, also partially owned by Virgin Media Television which itself closed down on 14 October 2007.
Ftn's schedule featured entertainment and reality programming, and also programming from other Virgin Media Television cable channels, such as Living, Living2, Bravo, Bravo 2, Trouble, and Challenge. This provided a preview to Freeview viewers of what the other Virgin Media channels offered, in a similar fashion to BSkyB
's Sky3, a channel also on Freeview.
Ftn +1 launched on Sky and Virgin Media on 9 August 2007. Despite being a one hour timeshift, Ftn +1 only broadcast from 19:00 until 01:00 as Live Roulette TV
which was shown on Ftn from 00:00 till 03:00 could not be rebroadcast an hour later for legal reasons.
. The new channel launched on Monday 1 October 2007. The channel being intended to be Virgin Media's attempt to rival Sky1.
As a result of the launch of Virgin1, it was revealed that Ftn would close, leaving its EPG positions on Sky, Virgin Media and Freeview to Virgin 1.
Ftn closed on Monday 1 October 2007 at 06:00 with Virgin 1 launching at 18:00 but actually at 21:00 on the same day. At the same time, Ftn's timeshift channel Ftn+1 was replaced by Virgin1+1 on cable and satellite. With the sale of VMTV to Sky in 2010, led to Virgin1 rebranding as the Channel One before being closed on 1 February 2011.
Television channel
A television channel is a physical or virtual channel over which a television station or television network is distributed. For example, in North America, "channel 2" refers to the broadcast or cable band of 54 to 60 MHz, with carrier frequencies of 55.25 MHz for NTSC analog video and...
from Virgin Media Television (formerly known as Flextech) transmitting free-to-air on Freeview and Virgin Media
Virgin Media
Virgin Media Inc. is a company which provides fixed and mobile telephone, television and broadband internet services to businesses and consumers in the United Kingdom...
, and as a subscription channel on Sky Digital
Sky Digital (UK & Ireland)
Sky is the brand name for British Sky Broadcasting's digital satellite television and radio service, transmitted from SES Astra satellites located at 28.2° east and Eutelsat's Eurobird 1 satellite at 28.5°E. The service was originally launched as Sky Digital, distinguishing it from the original...
. The channel was broadcast between 18:00 and 06:00 daily. It launched at 18:00 on 15 January 2003, six hours after neighbouring Freeview channel, UKTV Bright Ideas
UKTV Bright Ideas
UKTV Bright Ideas was a digital television channel broadcast in the United Kingdom, which was part of the UKTV family of channels. The channel broadcast a variety of programmes, often originally aired on UKTV Style, UKTV Food and UKTV Gardens, and are thus mainly cookery, DIY and gardening...
, also partially owned by Virgin Media Television which itself closed down on 14 October 2007.
Ftn's schedule featured entertainment and reality programming, and also programming from other Virgin Media Television cable channels, such as Living, Living2, Bravo, Bravo 2, Trouble, and Challenge. This provided a preview to Freeview viewers of what the other Virgin Media channels offered, in a similar fashion to BSkyB
British Sky Broadcasting
British Sky Broadcasting Group plc is a satellite broadcasting, broadband and telephony services company headquartered in London, United Kingdom, with operations in the United Kingdom and the Ireland....
's Sky3, a channel also on Freeview.
Ftn +1 launched on Sky and Virgin Media on 9 August 2007. Despite being a one hour timeshift, Ftn +1 only broadcast from 19:00 until 01:00 as Live Roulette TV
Live Roulette TV
Live Roulette is an interactive gaming show which was launched in June 2005. The programme allows people to place their chips on the roulette table by watching online or on TV and phoning the designated call centre number or playing via the internet...
which was shown on Ftn from 00:00 till 03:00 could not be rebroadcast an hour later for legal reasons.
Closure
It was announced in the summer of 2007 that Virgin Media Television was to launch a new channel, Virgin 1Virgin 1
Channel One was a television channel owned and operated by British Sky Broadcasting. The channel was launched on 1 October 2007 at 21:00 on Freeview, Virgin Media and Sky as Virgin1, replacing Ftn...
. The new channel launched on Monday 1 October 2007. The channel being intended to be Virgin Media's attempt to rival Sky1.
As a result of the launch of Virgin1, it was revealed that Ftn would close, leaving its EPG positions on Sky, Virgin Media and Freeview to Virgin 1.
Ftn closed on Monday 1 October 2007 at 06:00 with Virgin 1 launching at 18:00 but actually at 21:00 on the same day. At the same time, Ftn's timeshift channel Ftn+1 was replaced by Virgin1+1 on cable and satellite. With the sale of VMTV to Sky in 2010, led to Virgin1 rebranding as the Channel One before being closed on 1 February 2011.