Sky Travel
Encyclopedia
- This article discusses the Sky Real Lives channel (formerly "Sky Travel"). For the UK Sky channel currently named Sky Travel, see Sky TravelSky TravelSky Real Lives was an in-house channel from BSkyB that showed extensive programmes about travel, adverts for travel agencies and documentaries. The channels closed on 19 August 2010.-History:...
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Sky Real Lives was an in-house channel from 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....
that showed extensive programmes about travel, adverts for travel agencies and documentaries. The channels closed on 19 August 2010.
History
Sky Real Lives first launched as Sky Travel on 3 October 1994, and became part of the Sky MultichannelsSky Multichannels
Sky Multichannels was a package of analogue television channels offered by BSkyB on the Astra satellites at 19.2° east. The service started on 1 September 1993 based on the idea from the then chief executive officer, Sam Chisholm and Rupert Murdoch, of adjusting BSkyB's business strategy to include...
package. It originally broadcast between Monday and Thursday between midday and midnight and on Friday between 12pm and 6am until September 1997. In 2001, the channel started broadcasting 7 days a week from 6am until 11pm.
The channel was revamped in September 2002. Sky Travel Extra and the main channel launched with Freeview on 30 October 2002, along with Sky News
Sky News
Sky News is a 24-hour British and international satellite television news broadcaster with an emphasis on UK and international news stories.The service places emphasis on rolling news, including the latest breaking news. Sky News also hosts localised versions of the channel in Australia and in New...
and Sky Sports News
Sky Sports News
Sky Sports News is a 24-hour sports news channel in the United Kingdom. It is run by BSkyB whose sports channels include Sky Sports 1, 2, 3 and 4, as well as Sky Sports HD1, HD2, HD3 and HD4....
. In February 2003, a spin-off of the channels, Sky Travel Shop, launched a dedicated travel retail channel in the Specialist, then Shopping section of the EPG
Electronic program guide
Electronic program guides and interactive program guides provide users of television, radio, and other media applications with continuously updated menus displaying broadcast programming or scheduling information for current and upcoming programming...
. In September 2003 both channels were launched on the NTL platform. With increased distribution, Sky Travel changed its programming strategy to attract a wider audience, skewing towards stronger entertainment programs with a travel theme, particularly reality shows.
By August 2004, the core channel was broadcasting 24 hours a day and in January 2005, a timeshifted version of Sky Travel was launched.
In October 2005, Sky Travel on Freeview was replaced by Sky Three
Sky Three
Pick TV is a British television channel, available free-to-air on Freeview and TalkTalk TV, and free-to-view on satellite via Sky, Freesat from Sky and Virgin Media. The channel was originally launched on 31 October 2005 as Sky Three...
and in March 2006, the Sky Travel channels were moved from the "Entertainment" section on the Sky EPG, to the "Lifestyle and Culture" section.
In August 2006, Sky Travel began showing reality TV, whilst Sky Travel Extra dedicated its airtime to documentaries.
Sky Real Lives 2, the replacement channel for Sky Travel Extra, gained additional broadcast hours from its launch.
From 2002 until 2007, Sky Real Lives 2 only aired from 6am until 1am. However, on 7 November, the channel began 24 hour broadcasts.
Sky Real Lives programmes were showcased on Sky's main channels; Sky1, Sky2, but mostly on its free-to-air
Free-to-air
Free-to-air describes television and radio services broadcast in clear form, allowing any person with the appropriate receiving equipment to receive the signal and view or listen to the content without requiring a subscription or one-off fee...
sister channel, Sky3.
Changes on Freeview
In 2004, Sky Travel showed the first two episodes of the fourth season of US drama 24, simulcastSimulcast
Simulcast, shorthand for "simultaneous broadcast", refers to programs or events broadcast across more than one medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at the same time. For example, Absolute Radio is simulcast on both AM and on satellite radio, and the BBC's Prom concerts are often...
ing with Sky's primary channel, Sky One. This led to rumours that the company had planned to turn Sky Travel into a general entertainment channel on Freeview. However, BSkyB's CEO, James Murdoch, had repeatedly denied the company had any plans to launch any new free-to-air services.
BSkyB's stance on the subject has since changed. On 22 September 2005, it was announced that Sky Travel would be replaced on Freeview by new entertainment channel Sky Three. Although some of Sky Travel's programming will form part of the schedule of Sky Three, Sky Travel itself will still be shown 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...
. Sky Travel ceased to be broadcast on Freeview at 5pm on 31 October 2005.
Sky Travel relaunches as Sky Real Lives
On 17 September 2007, Sky announced plans to rebrand Sky Travel to Sky Real Lives from 7 November 2007. The new channel focused on programmes with a human interest storyHuman interest story
A human interest story is a feature story that discusses a person or people in an emotional way. It presents people and their problems, concerns, or achievements in a way that brings about interest or sympathy in the reader or viewer....
and was targeted more at women in the 35-54 age range.
Sky's managing director of entertainment Sophie Turner Laing said it seems that the channel would be given a "whole new makeover" that would make it more entertainment oriented. On 7 November, the following channels were changed:
Sky Travel was renamed as Sky Real Lives, Sky Travel +1 was renamed Sky Real Lives +1, Sky Travel Extra renamed to Sky Real Lives 2, and Sky Travel Shop was also renamed to Sky Travel. Sky Real Lives, Sky Real Lives 2, Sky Arts 1 and Sky Arts 2 were launched on UPC Ireland
UPC Ireland
UPC Ireland is Liberty Global Europe's telecommunications operation in Ireland. UPC Ireland is the largest digital cable television provider within the Republic of Ireland. As of September 2010 the company offers broadband internet, digital television and digital telephony to over 531,000 customers...
, before being removed on 8 December 2008.
Closure
On 16 June 2010, it was announced that Sky Real Lives, and its portfolio of channels would close on 19 August 2010, with the channels budget shifting to Sky1 and Sky2.Programming
- 24 Hours In Soho
- Airline
- Air RageAir rageAir rage is the general term for disruptive and/or violent behavior perpetrated by passengers and crew of aircraft, typically during flight. The first noted, or recorded air rage event in Britain was May 15, 1990, on a flight from Grand Canaria to Gatwick airport by Miss Theresa Sheffield.In the...
- A Life Without PainA Life Without PainA Life Without Pain is a documentary film by Melody Gilbert about children who can't feel pain.-Plot synopsis:The film explores the daily lives of three children with Congenital insensitivity to pain, a rare genetic disorder shared by just a hundred people in the world...
- America's Fattest City
- A Mother Like Alex
- Babies At Risk
- Baby Race
- Bad BehaviourBad BehaviourBad Behaviour is a 1993 British comedy film directed by Les Blair and starring Stephen Rea, Sinéad Cusack and Philip Jackson. The film depicts an Irish couple living with their family in North London.-Cast:* Stephen Rea - Gerry McAllister...
- Beat the Bailiff
- The Biggest LoserThe Biggest LoserThe Biggest Loser is an American reality game show that debuted on NBC October 19, 2004. The show features obese people competing to win a cash prize by losing the highest percentage of weight relative to their initial weight....
- Bombs, Brits and CheerleadersBombs, Brits and CheerleadersBombs, Brits and Cheerleaders is a 'fly on the wall' documentary that looks at the arrival of an American family in a UK RAF airbase.It follows Roy, Susan and Amber Yakkel and their struggle to embrace English culture in Suffolk...
- Brain Doctors
- Club RepsClub RepsClub Reps was a factual entertainment programme made for ITV by STV Productions . It ran from 2001 to 2004. The programme has been repeated on Sky Real Lives and Pick TV.-Main Series:...
- Coach TripCoach TripCoach Trip is a reality show that was broadcast on Channel 4 with More4 and Pick TV showing repeats since 7 March 2005. The programme returned on 25 May 2009. The show's format consists of 4 to 7 teams of 2 undertaking a coach tour principally of continental Europe...
- Crime SceneCrime sceneA crime scene is a location where an illegal act took place, and comprises the area from which most of the physical evidence is retrieved by trained law enforcement personnel, crime scene investigators or in rare circumstances, forensic scientists....
- Crippendales
- Customs UK
- Dying to Be Apart
- Extreme Lives
- Grimebusters Series 1: 2007 6x24' Series 2: 2008 10x24'
- HD Short Films
- Hoilday Airline
- How Long Will You Live?How Long Will You Live?How Long Will You Live? is an Irish television series broadcast on RTÉ One. Presented by Mark Hamilton, it has so far run for a total of four series. Each week Hamilton examines a different individual with an unhealthy lifestyle, estimates their lifespan and attempts to increase that lifespan by...
- Ian Wright's Unfit Kids
- Intervention (TV series)Intervention (TV series)Intervention is an American television program about the realities facing addicts of many kinds.Each program follows one or two participants, each of whom has an addiction or other mentally and/or physically damaging problem and believes that they are being filmed for a documentary on their problem...
- Jodie Kidd's Fashion Avenue
- The Lion ManThe Lion ManThe Lion Man was a New Zealand television documentary series about a New Zealand big cat park called Zion Wildlife Gardens. The series was named after the Lion Man, Craig Busch, the park's founder, and followed him and his staff as they managed the park and its collection of approximately 30 lions...
- London Ambulance Series 1: 2007 6x24' Series 2: 2008 6x24'
- Love Behind Bars
- Luton AirportLuton Airport (TV series)Luton Airport is a British reality TV series which follows staff at London Luton Airport, the fourth airport of the London area and a hub for low-cost carriers such as EasyJet and Ryanair....
- MastermindsMasterminds (Canadian TV series)Masterminds was a true crime documentary television series produced in Canada with truTV .As of February 2011, the program is broadcast on History Television and Global TV in Canada and truTV in the United States....
- Petnapped
- PhobiaPhobiaA phobia is a type of anxiety disorder, usually defined as a persistent fear of an object or situation in which the sufferer commits to great lengths in avoiding, typically disproportional to the actual danger posed, often being recognized as irrational...
- Polygamous Wives
- Psychic DetectivesPsychic DetectivesPsychic Detectives or Psychic Investigators is a television program produced by StoryHouse Productions for Court TV, as of 2006 in its 5th season. The program documents real-life cases of situations in which police departments have enlisted the aid of psychics in solving difficult cases...
- QuintupletsQuintupletsQuintuplets is an American sitcom that aired twenty-two episodes on FOX from June 16, 2004 through January 12, 2005. The program starred Andy Richter and Rebecca Creskoff as parents of a family of quintuplets and their various adventures in parenthood....
- Real A&E
- Redcoats
- Real Life Stories
- Risky BusinessRisky BusinessRisky Business is a 1983 American teen comedy-drama film written by Paul Brickman in his directorial debut. It stars Tom Cruise and Rebecca De Mornay. The hit film launched Cruise to stardom.-Plot:...
- Searching For My Son
- Secrets Revealed - DNA Stories
- Sky TravelSky TravelSky Real Lives was an in-house channel from BSkyB that showed extensive programmes about travel, adverts for travel agencies and documentaries. The channels closed on 19 August 2010.-History:...
- Suicide In The Air
- Swapped Children
- Taken Away
- Teenage Gamblers
- Terry Gee: Living With HIV
- The ClinicThe ClinicThe Clinic is a Chilean satirical/investigative newspaper founded by Patricio Fernández Chadwick in November 1998. The name was inspired by Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet's October 1998 arrest in Britain at The London Clinic, which bears the name The Clinic on its façade...
- The Filth FilesThe Filth FilesThe Filth Files is a New Zealand based documentary series that follows the work of a team of Public Health Officers. Each week the programme focuses on the work of a small number of officers as they visit businesses in the North Shore City district of Auckland...
- The Little CoupleThe Little CoupleThe Little Couple is an American reality television series featuring Bill Klein and Jennifer Arnold, who both have dwarfism. The series debuted on TLC in 2009. Jen is 3'2" and Bill is 4 feet tall. They live in Houston, Texas, where the series has documented the customized building of their home and...
- The Man Who Faked His Life
- The Zoo UK
- Ultra Tall: Jabe Babe
- Vanity Insanity
- Vain Men
- Wakey Wakey CampersWakey Wakey CampersWakey Wakey Campers is a British Reality television series about a group of modern holiday-makers who stay on a mock 1960s-style holiday camp. The series finds out whether they will enjoy the experience, lack of technology, living conditions and activities...
- Wildlife Detectives
- Women Behind BarsWomen Behind BarsWomen Behind Bars is a play by Tom Eyen.A camp spoof of the exploitation films produced by Universal, Warner's, and Republic Pictures in the 1950s, this black comedy is set in the Women's House of Detention in Greenwich Village...
- X-WeightedX-WeightedX-Weighted is a lifestyle documentary series that follows individuals through their attempts to lose weight. It follows a person for six months documenting their exercise, successes, and failures at weight loss...
- Zoo Story
- Zoo Vets At Large
Sky Real Lives HD
A high-definitionHigh-definition television
High-definition television is video that has resolution substantially higher than that of traditional television systems . HDTV has one or two million pixels per frame, roughly five times that of SD...
version of the channel was launched on Sky+ HD on 20 October 2008, on channel 278.
External links
- Sky Real Lives at sky.com
- Sky Travel at sky.com