Comcast-owned European pay-TV giant Sky has announced plans to axe Sky One as part of a major rehaul in its UK channel portfolio.
Launched in 1982, Sky One will leave television screens after nearly 40 years on September 1. The broadcaster has decided to fill its slot with a new channel called Sky Showcase, which will be the new home of the broadcaster’s high-profile curated shows.
Alongside Sky Showcase, Sky will also launch the brand-new channel Sky Max, which will become the place to watch Sky original dramas like A Discovery of Witches, panel shows including A League of Their Own, and other original shows, while original comedies will move to Sky Comedy.
The Sky Max launch line-up will also include the return of the cult music panel show Never Mind the Buzzcocks hosted by Taskmaster's Greg Davies.
Sky Atlantic will remain the exclusive place to watch top dramas from Sky, HBO and Showtime, such as Gangs Of London, I Hate Suzie and Chernobyl.
Sky director of programs Jamie Morris said linear television remains a powerful platform through which Sky customers discover new shows.
“I still think the TV guide is a brilliant discovery tool,” Morris said. “Replacing Sky One with Sky Showcase just allows us, higher up the EPG, to surface more originals and more breadth of content.”
"We just want to be really clear to our customers and allow those really big content pieces to be easier than ever to find and we think Sky Showcase, sat side by side with the rest of the key content, will make those shows shine even greater,” he added.
Sky’s new channel portfolio includes:
Sky Showcase
Sky Max
Sky Witness
Sky Atlantic
Sky Comedy
Sky Documentaries
Sky Crime
Sky History
Sky Nature
Sky Arts
Sky Kids
