Great! TV (stylized as GREAT! tv)[1][2] is a British-English language general entertainment channel in the United Kingdom owned by Narrative Entertainment UK Limited. It originally launched as Sony Entertainment Television on 7 April 2011.[3] However, it was closed on 6 February 2018 and replaced by Sony Crime Channel. It was brought back for a second time on 10 September 2019 when it replaced True Entertainment. The relaunched Sony Channel had different idents and programming than the former due to inheriting some programming from its predecessor True Entertainment and on 25 May 2021, following Narrative Capital's acquisition of Sony's channels, it was rebranded as Great! TV.
 | |
| Country | United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Programming | |
| Language(s) | English |
| Picture format | 16:9 576i SDTV |
| Timeshift service | Great! TV +1 |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Sony Pictures Television (2011–21) Narrative Entertainment UK Limited (2021–present) |
| Sister channels | Pop Tiny Pop Pop Max Great! Movies Great! Action Great! Romance |
| History | |
| Launched | 7 April 2011 (original) 10 September 2019 (relaunch) |
| Replaced | Original Film 24 (SET) Open Access 3 (SET +1) Relaunch True Entertainment |
| Closed | 6 February 2018 (original) |
| Replaced by | Sony Crime Channel (original) |
| Former names | Sony Entertainment Television (2011–16) Sony Channel (2016–21) |
| Links | |
| Website | greatnetwork.com/tv |
| Availability | |
| Terrestrial | |
| Freeview | Channel 50 |
History
BT agreed a deal with Sony Pictures Television to offer its programming on-demand on BT Vision from 1 March 2010.[4] The move marked Sony's debut in the UK market, over a year ahead of the launch of the Sony Entertainment Television channel. Sony Entertainment Television also appeared on TalkTalk TV during the YouView platform launch in 2012, but was later removed.
Sony Pictures Television acquired channel 157 on Sky's EPG, previously owned by Film 24, in November 2010.[5] A one-hour timeshift channel was also available from launch after the purchase of Open Access 3's Sky EPG slot on channel 190. Both Film 24 and Open Access 3 closed on 4 April 2011, to make way for previews of Sony Entertainment Television. On 15 December 2011, Sony Entertainment Television was added to Virgin Media.[6] On 2 April 2012, Sony Entertainment Television +1 moved to Current TV's former Sky EPG slot on channel 183, with channel 190 used to launch Men&Movies +1. On 3 July 2012, Sony Entertainment Television +1 moved to channel 181.
The channel was rebranded as Sony Channel on 12 January 2016, but closed on 6 February 2018 to be replaced by Sony Crime Channel on Sky and Virgin Media. The last programme on the channel was an episode of Saving Hope.
On 24 July 2019, it was announced that Sony Channel would be relaunched and would replace its predecessor True Entertainment from 10 September 2019.[7][better source needed] The channel replaced True Entertainment on all platforms (Freeview 48, Sky 157, Freesat 142, Virgin 189), with the last programme shown on True Entertainment being an episode of Highway to Heaven.
Due to Narrative Capital acquiring SPT's full UK portfolio on 14 May 2021, the 4 Sony-branded free-to-air channels in the UK adopted the Great! branding on 25 May 2021. As a result, the channel was rebranded as Great! TV.[8]
On 21 June 2023, Great! TV moved from a local TV multiplex on Freeview to the COM6 multiplex, thereby making the channel more widely available in more areas on Freeview.[9][10]
On 20 November 2024, Great! TV +1 was replaced by the Great! Player streaming service on Freeview channel 63.
Logos
Sony Entertainment Television (2011–2016)
Sony Channel (2016-2018)
Sony Channel (2019–2021)
Sony Channel +1 (2019–2021)
Programming
Original
The original Sony Channel was aimed at women aged between 25 and 54 and broadcast a range of dramas and comedies, including Hawthorne, Huff, and 'Til Death.[11] Sony Entertainment Television also brought UK series Hustle and Hotel Babylon, along with the last season of Las Vegas and reruns of Crossing Jordan, Dawson's Creek, My Boys, Ned and Stacey, and NewsRadio.[12] It also showed movies from SET's parent company Sony Pictures Entertainment, such as The Da Vinci Code, All the King's Men, Marie Antoinette, and Philadelphia. From September 2011, Holby City began airing on Sony Entertainment Television.[13]
On 16 May 2012, Sony Entertainment Television began showing BBC Spy drama Spooks from series 1.[14] It was announced on 2 August 2012, that Sony Entertainment Television acquired the rights to broadcast Hot in Cleveland in the UK and Ireland, and it showed season 3 on 14 September 2012, season 1 and season 2 had already been broadcast on Sky Living.[15] The channel also broadcast the American sitcom Community,[16] ITV's Secret Diary of a Call Girl and the BBC's highly successful Ashes to Ashes and Life on Mars. The channel started to broadcast the UK TV premieres of various other programmes including The Night Shift, Saving Hope, Younger, Satisfaction and Orange Is the New Black. Paranormal content on the former channel included Ghost Hunters, Ghost Hunters International and Celebrity Ghost Stories. In 2017, the channel began to broadcast repeats of America's Got Talent.
Relaunch
The relaunched Sony Channel (which later became Great! TV) retained some programming from its predecessor channel, True Entertainment, but added more Sony-owned programmes to the schedule.
Great! Real
Great! Real (stylized as GREAT! real) is a British terrestrial TV channel owned by Narrative Entertainment UK Limited which launched in 20 March 2024 and served as a replacement for Tiny Pop[17][18] on Freeview, Freesat, Sky and Virgin.
History
In February 2024, it was announced that Narrative Entertainment UK Limited would launch a new channel concept called Great! Real in March, featuring reality television content. The network launched test transmissions on 5 March 2024, before an official launch of 20 March, replacing Tiny Pop, which would move to online-only distribution.
The service would only last five months before closing on 20 August 2024 to make way for the return of Tiny Pop to terrestrial distribution.
GREAT! real returned as a FAST channel in October 2024.
Great! Mystery
Great! Mystery is a British terrestrial TV channel operating as a FAST service on a number of platforms and as a HbbTV hybrid streaming channel on Freeview channel 61.[19] Great! Mystery originally launched alongside Narrative Entertainment's children's service POP Up in May 2024 via Samsung TV Plus, LG Channels and Plex.[20]
Styled as the Home of the Whodunnit, the service would be used to premiere a number of films new to Great! TV's channels as well as being a channel for murder mystery dramas. On 20 November 2024, the channel joined Freeview as a streaming service launching on channel 61, the former home of Great! Real, with the Great! Player turning up on channel 63.[21]
References
External links
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