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The Comedy Channel (UK)
Encyclopedia
The Comedy Channel was a United Kingdom
subscription television channel during the early 1990s.
The channel launched soon after the merger of Sky Television plc
and British Satellite Broadcasting
(BSB). The merged company, British Sky Broadcasting
, brought together comedy programming from its existing libraries - Sky having an archive of US
imports including Three's Company
, I Love Lucy
, Green Acres
, The Beverly Hillbillies
and Seinfeld
, and BSB having obtained rights to a number of BBC
sitcoms such as Dad's Army
and The Goodies
.
The Comedy Channel existed in the days before the basic "Sky Multichannels
" subscription package, so was made available as a premium service to subscribers of either Sky Movies
or The Movie Channel
.
The channel eventually lost the broadcast rights to the BBC shows following the expiry of the contract which between the BBC and former BSB. Eventually the channel closed on 30 September 1992, to be replaced by a "classic movies" channel, Sky Movies Gold
.
, a joint venture between the BBC
and Thames Television
, launched UK Gold, devoted to "Classic British Television". As well as a range of drama, soap and children's programmes, many of the same BBC comedy shows were screened, supplemented with ITV
comedies including Thames' George and Mildred
, Man About The House
, and so on. Some years later, the unrelated Paramount Channel rebranded itself as Paramount Comedy Channel, discontinuing its drama and entertainment programming to concentrate solely on largely American comedy.
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...
subscription television channel during the early 1990s.
The channel launched soon after the merger of Sky Television plc
Sky Television plc
Sky Television plc was a public limited company which operated its four-channel satellite television service, launched by Rupert Murdoch's News International on 5 February 1989...
and British Satellite Broadcasting
British Satellite Broadcasting
British Satellite Broadcasting was a British television company which provided direct broadcast satellite television services to the United Kingdom...
(BSB). The merged company, British Sky Broadcasting
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....
, brought together comedy programming from its existing libraries - Sky having an archive of US
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
imports including Three's Company
Three's Company
Three's Company is an American sitcom that aired from March 15, 1977, to September 18, 1984, on ABC. It is based on the British sitcom, Man About the House....
, I Love Lucy
I Love Lucy
I Love Lucy is an American television sitcom starring Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, Vivian Vance, and William Frawley. The black-and-white series originally ran from October 15, 1951, to May 6, 1957, on the Columbia Broadcasting System...
, Green Acres
Green Acres
Green Acres is an American television series starring Eddie Albert and Eva Gabor as a couple who move from New York City to a country farm...
, The Beverly Hillbillies
The Beverly Hillbillies
The Beverly Hillbillies is an American situation comedy originally broadcast for nine seasons on CBS from 1962 to 1971, starring Buddy Ebsen, Irene Ryan, Donna Douglas, and Max Baer, Jr....
and Seinfeld
Seinfeld
Seinfeld is an American television sitcom that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, lasting nine seasons, and is now in syndication. It was created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld, the latter starring as a fictionalized version of himself...
, and BSB having obtained rights to a number of BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
sitcoms such as Dad's Army
Dad's Army
Dad's Army is a British sitcom about the Home Guard during the Second World War. It was written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft and broadcast on BBC television between 1968 and 1977. The series ran for 9 series and 80 episodes in total, plus a radio series, a feature film and a stage show...
and The Goodies
The Goodies
The Goodies are a trio of British comedians who created, wrote, and starred in a surreal British television comedy series called The Goodies during the 1970s and early 1980s combining sketches and situation comedy.-Honours:All three Goodies now have OBEs...
.
The Comedy Channel existed in the days before the basic "Sky Multichannels
Sky 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...
" subscription package, so was made available as a premium service to subscribers of either Sky Movies
Sky Movies
Sky Movies is the collective name for the premium subscription television movie channels operated by Sky Television, and later British Sky Broadcasting. It has around 5 million subscribers, via satellite, cable and IPTV in the UK and Ireland...
or The Movie Channel
The Movie Channel (UK)
For the unrelated American service, see The Movie ChannelThe Movie Channel was a British television channel, which only showed movies. Launched on BSB in 1990, The Movie Channel was a predecessor of some of the Sky Movies channels, having survived the merger with Sky Television, another satellite...
.
The channel eventually lost the broadcast rights to the BBC shows following the expiry of the contract which between the BBC and former BSB. Eventually the channel closed on 30 September 1992, to be replaced by a "classic movies" channel, Sky Movies Gold
Sky Movies
Sky Movies is the collective name for the premium subscription television movie channels operated by Sky Television, and later British Sky Broadcasting. It has around 5 million subscribers, via satellite, cable and IPTV in the UK and Ireland...
.
Similar Channels
Although no relation to Sky's Comedy Channel, other channels went on to show similar programmes or adopt an all-comedy theme. Later the same year, UKTVUKTV
UKTV is a digital cable and satellite television network, formed through a joint venture between BBC Worldwide, a commercial subsidiary of the British Broadcasting Corporation, and Scripps Networks Interactive, spun off from The E.W Scripps Company in 2008...
, a joint venture between the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
and Thames Television
Thames Television
Thames Television was a licensee of the British ITV television network, covering London and parts of the surrounding counties on weekdays from 30 July 1968 until 31 December 1992....
, launched UK Gold, devoted to "Classic British Television". As well as a range of drama, soap and children's programmes, many of the same BBC comedy shows were screened, supplemented with ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
comedies including Thames' George and Mildred
George and Mildred
George and Mildred is a British sitcom produced by Thames Television that aired from 1976 to 1979. It was a spin-off from Man About the House and starred Brian Murphy and Yootha Joyce as an ill-matched married couple, George and Mildred Roper...
, Man About The House
Man About the House
Man About the House is a British sitcom starring Richard O'Sullivan, Paula Wilcox and Sally Thomsett that was broadcast for six seasons on ITV from 1973 to 1976. It was created and written by Johnnie Mortimer and Brian Cooke. The series was considered daring at the time due to its subject matter of...
, and so on. Some years later, the unrelated Paramount Channel rebranded itself as Paramount Comedy Channel, discontinuing its drama and entertainment programming to concentrate solely on largely American comedy.