Sky Three to launch on Freeview

[gem]

From Guardian Unlimited

Sky Three to launch on Freeview
John Plunkett
Thursday September 22, 2005

BSkyB is to launch a new entertainment channel, Sky Three, and in a challenge to terrestrial broadcasters, will put it on Freeview.

The new channel, part of a revamp of Sky's entertainment offerings that will see Sky One's sister station Sky Mix rebranded as Sky Two, will feature the first free-to-air offering of the third run of hit US drama 24.

The service, which launches next month, will be the first Sky entertainment channel on Freeview, where it will replace Sky Travel. All three channels will be available on digital satellite.

Sky Three marks a significant ramping up of Sky's entertainment offering as the satellite broadcaster seeks to make up ground lost to BBC3 and in particular ITV2 and ITV3. It will face further competition later this year when ITV launches lads' channel ITV4.

Sky One has suffered because it is not available on Freeview, the fastest growing digital platform. By putting Sky Three on the digital terrestrial service, Sky bosses will hope to recover some of its audience share, and also provide a showcase for its digital satellite channels.

"The expansion of Sky's portfolio of entertainment channels will allow us to deliver more value to customers and to exploit programme rights more effectively," said Dawn Airey, the managing director of Sky Networks.

"By launching simultaneously on Freeview, Sky Three will reach an even wider audience and offer digital terrestrial viewers the opportunity to enjoy a wide variety of popular programmes from Sky."

Sky Three will offer a mixed schedule including programmes already shown on Sky One and original lifestyle commissions and travel documentaries from Sky Travel. It will be available to 13m homes, 5.2m of them via Freeview.

The third run of Kiefer Sutherland drama 24, which has already aired on Sky One, will be one of the highlights of Sky Three's launch schedule. Other programmes transferring from Sky One will include crime drama Cold Case and I Can Change Your Life, featuring hypnotist Paul McKenna.

Sky Mix launched two years ago offering another opportunity to see recent episodes of shows already broadcast on Sky One and has proved successful in boosting the main channel's audience. Sky Travel launched in 2002.

[puggsley1980]

Ah but will it still have...

REALLY REALLY LOUD ADVERTS!!!

[gem]

Ssh, you'll wake the baby!

[druid]

Ah but will it still have...

REALLY REALLY LOUD ADVERTS!!!

Originally Posted by puggsley1980

That is something that really annoys me too! I watch UK TV History with the sound set to a comfortable volume, when the adverts come on it is deafening, so much so that I have to dive for the remote and switch channels.

Why do they do it? if it's to emphasise the ads it does not work as people get really annoyed (I imagine) and just switch!

[PeteC]

Counter-productive IMHO. I use mute, or switch channels if they're too intrusive. ITV is reported to have had its knuckles wrapped for over- exploiting this trick.

From
http://media.guardian.co.uk/advertis...574447,00.html

ITV caught out over loud ads

Stephen Brook, advertising correspondent
Wednesday September 21, 2005


ITV has incurred the wrath of the advertising watchdog for playing its
TV commercials so loud that one viewer thought they would disturb his
neighbours.
The broadcaster has become the second TV channel in three months the
Advertising Standards Authority has taken to task for playing its
commercials louder than the rest of its programming.

Several advertisements the channel showed in February were found in
breach of rules that the volume of adverts must be in keeping with sound
levels of the surrounding programmes.

Manipulating the levels of adverts is one of the oldest tricks in TV
advertising. Advertisers and TV channels have for years been able to
maintain that they do not play adverts louder than TV channels - and
technically speaking this is true.

Instead the soundtrack of the advert is "compressed", that is,
background sounds are brought up to the peak sound levels to make the
advert seem louder. The peak sounds are at the same level as surrounding
programmes.


The ASA was alerted to the adverts by a viewer who complained that the
sound levels rose during the commercial breaks and he was worried that
the noise would disturb his neighbours.

The watchdog ruled in July that Five had broken the rules and made
adverts shown during the broadcast of Groundhog Day in March sound
louder than the Bill Murray comedy.

ITV told the ASA that it routinely checked the loudness of
advertisements "at the time they were ingested into the playout system".

The broadcaster said it sent back those adverts it considered
particularly compressed for remixing but that it couldn't check every
commercial break before transmission because it was "too time
consuming".

Ofcom, which advises the ASA on technical issues, said that ITV had
reduced the peak loudness of the compressed advertisements but not to
the required level.

The ASA ruled that the highly compressed advertisements "sounded
subjectively louder" than the main content of the surrounding programmes
and found ITV in breach of the rules.

It ordered it to monitor its adverts and comply with the code in the
future.

[puggsley1980]

Don't suppose anyone has the address for the Advertising Standards Authority? i wouldn't mind sending them a few letters of my own.

[Scoobs]

http://www.asa.org.uk/asa/how_to_complain/

[Worldlife]

Do I recall correctly that some video or DVD recorders have the ability to eliminate adverts when making a recording.

If so I wonder how the device recognises an advert is being played and if so whether such technology could be available in a free standing bit of equipment.

When I was working used to recommend an "Electronic Orange" that monitored the sound levels of pop groups playing in residential areas. If they exceeded a set volume level they got a warning flash..... If they ignored the flash the power supply to their amplifiers was cut off.

[gem]

Do I recall correctly that some video or DVD recorders have the ability to eliminate adverts when making a recording......

Originally Posted by Worldlife

Don't know about that but with the Sky+ box you can wizz through the ads (or anything else for that matter) at up to 30 times the original.

[druid]

Do I recall correctly that some video or DVD recorders have the ability to eliminate adverts when making a recording.

Originally Posted by Worldlife

A VCR that did this was announced several years ago but it died a death, I wonder why?

[wokit]

Hi

Volume level pointless for me as explained before Freeview not available to me.

Sky kindly offering service for £150 very generous of them!!