Sit-up Ltd
Encyclopedia
Bid Shopping is a UK
based broadcaster
which launched in 2000.
To over 12 million homes, it delivers a portfolio of falling price shopping television channels. On 1 April 2009 it was announced that Sit-Up Ltd had been sold by Virgin Media
to AURELIUS AG. The purchase price or terms of the agreement have not been disclosed. Virgin Media
had previously owned the company - this followed partial ownership prior to May 2005. Bid Shopping runs the channels Bid, Price Drop and Speed Auction each day from 7.45 am through to 1.30 am. The downtime is covered by their rolling advertisement arm, Screenshop
. The channels are designed to sell consumer products via digital TV
(currently carried by digital satellite
, cable
, and terrestrial) or the Internet
.
On 1 August 2011, 'Sit-Up' was renamed 'Bid Shopping', with 'Bid TV', 'Price-Drop TV' and 'Speed Auction TV' becoming 'Bid', 'Price Drop' and 'Speed Auction' respectively.
The channel was launched on 5 October 2000. It started by broadcasting 12 hours a day, many of which were pre-recorded, with auction graphics overlaid so people could bid although the video itself was pre-recorded. It now broadcasts live for almost 18 hours a day from 07:45 to 01:30. bid is available on Freeview 23, Virgin Media
745, Sky 654, Freesat
802 and Wightcable
704
The channel was launched on 11 June 2003, broadcasting live between 16:00 to midnight, Wednesdays to Saturdays. It now broadcasts live for almost 18 hours a day from 07:45 to 01:30. Price Drop is available on Freeview 37, Virgin Media
741, Sky 645, Freesat
801 and Wightcable
706
Speed Auction broadcasts live Wednesdays to Mondays from 07:45 to 01:30 and Tuesdays 13:30 to 01:30. Speed Auction is available on Virgin Media
746, Sky 665, Freesat
814
-based shopping channel. It broadcasts during Speed Auction's downtime of 01:30 to 07:30 a day the Sky 680 and during the hours of 01:30 to 07:45 during Bid Shopping's downtime on its other channels, Bid and Price Drop. A deal in July 2004 meant that Vector Direct
will now broadcast their presentations exclusively on the channel, this has led to the channel being striped of its identity, it is now broadcasts under Vector Direct
own band 'TV Warehouse
', but is still owned by Bid Shopping.
However, another company would launch their own free-to-air movie channel just ahead of Sit-Up's in the 333 slot; True Movies
was also female orientated with an emphasis on true stories. Sit-Up changed their original channel proposals, with Matinee Movies and Bad Movies emerging as their new channels (details below), which both launched in 25 April 2005.
The channel was aimed for families, showing classic and rare black & white British films such as Love in Pawn and the Frankie Howerd
bequest
comedy A Touch of the Sun. Films on the channel were introduced by film critic Paul Ross
. As an interlude, or at the start of the broadcast day, there were showings of a film magazine programme called Sprockets (not to be confused with the SNL
sketches
with Mike Myers
.
In under a year, the channel and EPG slot was sold to Dolphin Television who rebranded it as a 24-hour channel called Movies4Men
in 1 February 2006. sit up have no involvement with this channel.
The channel was aimed at a young adult audience, showing a variety of cinematic "turkeys", though some of the content was increasingly from matinee movies, especially after 5am. Films included Tomboy
starring Betsy Russell
, Glen and Randa
, Plan 9 From Outer Space
and Revenge of the Cheerleaders starring David Hasselhoff
. The channel also featured introductions by Paul Ross and episodes of Sprockets.
As per Matinee Movies, the channel and EPG slot was also sold to Dolphin Television who rebranded it as a 24-hour channel called ACTIONMAX (later rebranded as Movies4Men 2
) on 1 February 2006. sit up have no involvement with this channel.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
based broadcaster
Broadcasting
Broadcasting is the distribution of audio and video content to a dispersed audience via any audio visual medium. Receiving parties may include the general public or a relatively large subset of thereof...
which launched in 2000.
To over 12 million homes, it delivers a portfolio of falling price shopping television channels. On 1 April 2009 it was announced that Sit-Up Ltd had been sold by 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...
to AURELIUS AG. The purchase price or terms of the agreement have not been disclosed. 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...
had previously owned the company - this followed partial ownership prior to May 2005. Bid Shopping runs the channels Bid, Price Drop and Speed Auction each day from 7.45 am through to 1.30 am. The downtime is covered by their rolling advertisement arm, Screenshop
Screenshop
Screenshop is a British digital television channel, owned by Sit-up Ltd. It is an infomercial-based shopping channel, selling a wide variety of products from TV Warehouse. On Virgin Media and Sky, the channel has a 7 hour stream of its own, and additionally it broadcasts daily 1.30am to 7.45am,...
. The channels are designed to sell consumer products via digital TV
Digital television
Digital television is the transmission of audio and video by digital signals, in contrast to the analog signals used by analog TV...
(currently carried by digital satellite
Satellite television
Satellite television is television programming delivered by the means of communications satellite and received by an outdoor antenna, usually a parabolic mirror generally referred to as a satellite dish, and as far as household usage is concerned, a satellite receiver either in the form of an...
, cable
Cable television
Cable television is a system of providing television programs to consumers via radio frequency signals transmitted to televisions through coaxial cables or digital light pulses through fixed optical fibers located on the subscriber's property, much like the over-the-air method used in traditional...
, and terrestrial) or the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
.
On 1 August 2011, 'Sit-Up' was renamed 'Bid Shopping', with 'Bid TV', 'Price-Drop TV' and 'Speed Auction TV' becoming 'Bid', 'Price Drop' and 'Speed Auction' respectively.
Bid
Bid (formerly known as Bid-Up.TV until 21 January 2005 and as Bid TV until 1 August 2011) is a television shopping channel. It was the first auction channel of its kind in the UK.The channel was launched on 5 October 2000. It started by broadcasting 12 hours a day, many of which were pre-recorded, with auction graphics overlaid so people could bid although the video itself was pre-recorded. It now broadcasts live for almost 18 hours a day from 07:45 to 01:30. bid is available on Freeview 23, 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...
745, Sky 654, Freesat
Freesat
Freesat is a free-to-air digital satellite television joint venture between the BBC and ITV plc, serving the United Kingdom. The service was formed as a memorandum in 2007 and has been marketed since 6 May 2008...
802 and Wightcable
WightCable
Wight Cable 2005 Ltd is the only provider of commercial and residential cable television services on the Isle of Wight. They also provide telephone and broadband internet services....
704
Price Drop
Price Drop (formerly known as Price-Drop.TV until 21 January 2005 and as Price-Drop TV until 1 August 2011) is a television shopping channel that focuses on falling price auctions. Price Drop's channel format was the first of its type in the UK, using a falling price dynamic.The channel was launched on 11 June 2003, broadcasting live between 16:00 to midnight, Wednesdays to Saturdays. It now broadcasts live for almost 18 hours a day from 07:45 to 01:30. Price Drop is available on Freeview 37, 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...
741, Sky 645, Freesat
Freesat
Freesat is a free-to-air digital satellite television joint venture between the BBC and ITV plc, serving the United Kingdom. The service was formed as a memorandum in 2007 and has been marketed since 6 May 2008...
801 and Wightcable
WightCable
Wight Cable 2005 Ltd is the only provider of commercial and residential cable television services on the Isle of Wight. They also provide telephone and broadband internet services....
706
Speed Auction
Speed Auction (formerly known as Speed Auction TV until 1 August 2011) was launched on 27 July 2005, featuring rising price auctions lasting around 4 minutes. However, from 26 March 2008, speed auction "flipped the arrow" and started selling all its products using a falling price dynamic, matching its sister channels Bid and Price Drop.Speed Auction broadcasts live Wednesdays to Mondays from 07:45 to 01:30 and Tuesdays 13:30 to 01:30. Speed Auction is available on 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...
746, Sky 665, Freesat
Freesat
Freesat is a free-to-air digital satellite television joint venture between the BBC and ITV plc, serving the United Kingdom. The service was formed as a memorandum in 2007 and has been marketed since 6 May 2008...
814
Pricedropper.co.uk
Pricedropper.co.uk launched on 25 August 2010 and is Bid Shopping's online-only channel, which focuses on fixed-price 'auctions', which aim to beat the high street. Pricedropper.co.uk outlived its online sister channel Dibbing.comScreenshop
Screenshop is an infomercialInfomercial
Infomercials are direct response television commercials which generally include a phone number or website. There are long-form infomercials, which are typically between 15 and 30 minutes in length, and short-form infomercials, which are typically 30 seconds to 120 seconds in length. Infomercials...
-based shopping channel. It broadcasts during Speed Auction's downtime of 01:30 to 07:30 a day the Sky 680 and during the hours of 01:30 to 07:45 during Bid Shopping's downtime on its other channels, Bid and Price Drop. A deal in July 2004 meant that Vector Direct
Vector Direct
Vector Direct was a direct response television company showing longform infomercials on the Freeview, Virgin Media cable service and Sky Digital platforms in the United Kingdom....
will now broadcast their presentations exclusively on the channel, this has led to the channel being striped of its identity, it is now broadcasts under Vector Direct
Vector Direct
Vector Direct was a direct response television company showing longform infomercials on the Freeview, Virgin Media cable service and Sky Digital platforms in the United Kingdom....
own band 'TV Warehouse
TV Warehouse
TV Warehouse was an infomercial-based shopping channel brand based in the UK. The channels was owned by JML.-History:TV Warehouse first launched in November 2001 by Canis Media. A sister channel TV Warehouse Select was launched in May 2002. In May 2005, both TV Warehouse channels were sold to TV...
', but is still owned by Bid Shopping.
Defunct channels
In early January 2005, it was announced that Sit-Up would launch two free-to-air movie channels called Real-movies.tv and Movies On 333. Real-movies.tv was to be female orientated with an emphasis on true stories, whilst Movies On 333 (intended for Sky Digital channel 333) would focus on western and niche films.However, another company would launch their own free-to-air movie channel just ahead of Sit-Up's in the 333 slot; True Movies
True Movies
True Movies 1 is a satellite and cable television film channel in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, it is available on Freesat, Sky as well as Virgin Media...
was also female orientated with an emphasis on true stories. Sit-Up changed their original channel proposals, with Matinee Movies and Bad Movies emerging as their new channels (details below), which both launched in 25 April 2005.
Matinee Movies
Matinee Movies was a part-time movie channel owned by Sit-Up Ltd. It was then on Sky Digital channel 336 and ran daily from 9 am-9 pm. The last hour of the channel was occupied by some of Sit-Up's shopping auctions, such as Speed Auction TV.The channel was aimed for families, showing classic and rare black & white British films such as Love in Pawn and the Frankie Howerd
Frankie Howerd
Francis Alick "Frankie" Howerd OBE was an English comedian and comic actor whose career, described by fellow comedian Barry Cryer as "a series of comebacks", spanned six decades.-Early career:...
bequest
Bequest
A bequest is the act of giving property by will. Strictly, "bequest" is used of personal property, and "devise" of real property. In legal terminology, "bequeath" is a verb form meaning "to make a bequest."...
comedy A Touch of the Sun. Films on the channel were introduced by film critic Paul Ross
Paul Ross
Paul Ross is an English television and radio presenter, journalist, and media personality. He is the son of Martha Ross and the elder brother of Jonathan Ross.-Early life:...
. As an interlude, or at the start of the broadcast day, there were showings of a film magazine programme called Sprockets (not to be confused with the SNL
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
sketches
Sprockets (television)
Sprockets was a recurring, fictional West German television talk show sketch created by actor, writer and comedian Mike Myers with Canadian actor Dana Andersen for Second City Theatre...
with Mike Myers
Mike Myers (actor)
Michael John "Mike" Myers is a Canadian actor, comedian, screenwriter, and film producer of British parentage...
.
In under a year, the channel and EPG slot was sold to Dolphin Television who rebranded it as a 24-hour channel called Movies4Men
Movies4Men
Movies4Men is a satellite television film channel in the United Kingdom and Ireland, available as a free-to-air service on Freesat, Freeview and Sky...
in 1 February 2006. sit up have no involvement with this channel.
Bad Movies
Bad Movies was a part-time movie channel owned by Sit-Up Ltd. It was then on Sky Digital channel 339 and ran daily from 9 pm-9 am. The first three hours however showed Sit-Up's shopping auctions, so Bad Movies content did not actually appear until midnight.The channel was aimed at a young adult audience, showing a variety of cinematic "turkeys", though some of the content was increasingly from matinee movies, especially after 5am. Films included Tomboy
Tomboy (1985 film)
Tomboy is a 1985 comedy movie that stars Betsy Russell, and directed by Herb Freed.-Plot:The movie concerns the life of Tomasina "Tommy" Boyd who works as a mechanic and her hopes to become a stock car driver.-Main cast:...
starring Betsy Russell
Betsy Russell
Betsy Russell is an American actress who is best known for her role in Private School, and as Jill Tuck, the ex-wife of the Jigsaw Killer in the Saw film series.-Early life:...
, Glen and Randa
Glen and Randa
Glen and Randa is a 1971 rated X post-apocalypse movie directed by Jim McBride. It was co-written by McBride, Lorenzo Mans and Rudy Wurlitzer...
, Plan 9 From Outer Space
Plan 9 from Outer Space
Plan 9 from Outer Space is a 1959 science fiction film written and directed by Edward D. Wood, Jr. The film features Gregory Walcott, Mona McKinnon, Tor Johnson and Maila "Vampira" Nurmi...
and Revenge of the Cheerleaders starring David Hasselhoff
David Hasselhoff
David Michael Hasselhoff is an American actor, singer, producer and businessman. He is best known for his lead roles as Michael Knight in the popular 1980s US series Knight Rider and as L.A. County Lifeguard Mitch Buchannon in the series Baywatch...
. The channel also featured introductions by Paul Ross and episodes of Sprockets.
As per Matinee Movies, the channel and EPG slot was also sold to Dolphin Television who rebranded it as a 24-hour channel called ACTIONMAX (later rebranded as Movies4Men 2
Movies4Men 2
Movies4Men 2 is a satellite television film channel in the United Kingdom and Ireland, available as a free-to-air service on Freesat, Freeview , Sky and as in the basic package on Smallworld Cable...
) on 1 February 2006. sit up have no involvement with this channel.