UKTV People
Encyclopedia
Blighty is a television channel
broadcasting in the United Kingdom as part of the UKTV
network of channels. The channel originally launched on 8 March 2004 and relaunched in it's current format on 17 February 2009. The channel is only available on Sky, TalkTalk TV and Virgin Media
, and is not available on the digital terrestrial service Freeview.
and the docusoap Airport. Much of this programming had come from the former channel UK Horizons
, which had closed down the day before. The channel itself, along with UKTV Documentary
, replaced this channel formally.
On 9 October 2008, UKTV announced plans to rebrand UKTV People and UKTV Documentary in early 2009. The news came just two days after UKTV's entertainment channels were rebranded to Watch
, GOLD and Alibi. They announced that UKTV People would be rebranded as Blighty and this rebrand took place on 17 February 2009. As part of the rebrand, some programmes were transferred to channels such as Dave, while the channel acquired some other programmes looking at British life.
was all that changed. When the service closed, its bandwidth was taken by the newly launched UKTV Drama +1
.
When the rebrand to Blighty occurred, a new logo was designed consisting of a brightly coloured Union Flag
. This would be seen on a large scale flying behind the scenes depicted in front. These scenes include many people and centre on a number of typically british themes: Rain
, with large wellies, business men with umbrella
s and people camping
; Sun
with beach scenes, and other summer activites; Tea
, with all methods of making tea celebrated alongside cakes and buscuits and Multi Cultural, featuring foreign dances and Indian food and spices.
, who hold a 50% stake in the channel through commercial arm BBC Worldwide
. Additionally, BBC
programmes were edited to fit the time slot as an original broadcast for an hour long programme on the BBC might be as much as 58 minutes long, whereas the same programme on Blighty might be 42 minutes long without the commercials.
Television channel
A television channel is a physical or virtual channel over which a television station or television network is distributed. For example, in North America, "channel 2" refers to the broadcast or cable band of 54 to 60 MHz, with carrier frequencies of 55.25 MHz for NTSC analog video and...
broadcasting in the United Kingdom as part of the UKTV
UKTV
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...
network of channels. The channel originally launched on 8 March 2004 and relaunched in it's current format on 17 February 2009. The channel is only available on Sky, TalkTalk TV and Virgin Media
Virgin Media
Virgin Media Inc. is a company which provides fixed and mobile telephone, television and broadband internet services to businesses and consumers in the United Kingdom...
, and is not available on the digital terrestrial service Freeview.
History
The channel launched on 8 March 2004 as UKTV People, showing repeats of factual programming of a lighter nature, based on the people of the world with programmes such as Top GearTop Gear (current format)
Top Gear is a British television series about motor vehicles, primarily cars. It began in 1977 as a conventional motoring magazine show. Over time, and especially since a relaunch in 2002, it has developed a quirky, humorous style...
and the docusoap Airport. Much of this programming had come from the former channel UK Horizons
UK Horizons
UK Horizons was a television channel broadcast in the United Kingdom, as part of the UKTV network of channels. The channel was in existence between 1997 and 2004.-Launch:...
, which had closed down the day before. The channel itself, along with UKTV Documentary
UKTV Documentary
Eden is a digital television channel broadcasting in the United Kingdom and Ireland as part of the UKTV network of channels. The channel originally launched on 8 March 2004 and relaunched in it's current format on 26 January 2009...
, replaced this channel formally.
On 9 October 2008, UKTV announced plans to rebrand UKTV People and UKTV Documentary in early 2009. The news came just two days after UKTV's entertainment channels were rebranded to Watch
Watch (TV channel)
Watch is a general entertainment channel broadcasting in the United Kingdom and Ireland, as part of the UKTV network. The channel launched on 7 October 2008 on satellite through Sky and on cable primarily through Virgin Media.-History:...
, GOLD and Alibi. They announced that UKTV People would be rebranded as Blighty and this rebrand took place on 17 February 2009. As part of the rebrand, some programmes were transferred to channels such as Dave, while the channel acquired some other programmes looking at British life.
Timeshift
From launch until 18 April 2006, the channel ran a time shift service called UKTV People +1. The service ran the UKTV People schedule one hour later and received no special branding, promotions or coverage - usually a change of DOG LogoDigital on-screen graphic
A digital on-screen graphic is a watermark-like station logo that many television broadcasters overlay over a portion of the screen-area of their programs to identify the channel...
was all that changed. When the service closed, its bandwidth was taken by the newly launched UKTV Drama +1
UKTV Drama
Alibi is a digital television channel broadcasting in the United Kingdom and Ireland, as part of the UKTV network of channels. The channel launched on 1 November 1997 and relaunched in it's current format on 7 October 2008...
.
Identity
When the channel launched as UKTV People, the idents all featured people depicted from different angles set against a sceen split in four, before fading into the stacked UKTV People ident over a three striped red background. This same background also featured on promotions for the channel, both on the channel and across the network.When the rebrand to Blighty occurred, a new logo was designed consisting of a brightly coloured Union Flag
Union Flag
The Union Flag, also known as the Union Jack, is the flag of the United Kingdom. It retains an official or semi-official status in some Commonwealth Realms; for example, it is known as the Royal Union Flag in Canada. It is also used as an official flag in some of the smaller British overseas...
. This would be seen on a large scale flying behind the scenes depicted in front. These scenes include many people and centre on a number of typically british themes: Rain
Rain
Rain is liquid precipitation, as opposed to non-liquid kinds of precipitation such as snow, hail and sleet. Rain requires the presence of a thick layer of the atmosphere to have temperatures above the melting point of water near and above the Earth's surface...
, with large wellies, business men with umbrella
Umbrella
An umbrella or parasol is a canopy designed to protect against rain or sunlight. The term parasol usually refers to an item designed to protect from the sun; umbrella refers to a device more suited to protect from rain...
s and people camping
Camping
Camping is an outdoor recreational activity. The participants leave urban areas, their home region, or civilization and enjoy nature while spending one or several nights outdoors, usually at a campsite. Camping may involve the use of a tent, caravan, motorhome, cabin, a primitive structure, or no...
; Sun
Sun
The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is almost perfectly spherical and consists of hot plasma interwoven with magnetic fields...
with beach scenes, and other summer activites; Tea
Tea
Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by adding cured leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant to hot water. The term also refers to the plant itself. After water, tea is the most widely consumed beverage in the world...
, with all methods of making tea celebrated alongside cakes and buscuits and Multi Cultural, featuring foreign dances and Indian food and spices.
Programming
Much of the channels programming focuses on repeated programming, mainly but not exclusively from the BBCBBC
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...
, who hold a 50% stake in the channel through commercial arm BBC Worldwide
BBC Worldwide
BBC Worldwide Limited is the wholly owned commercial subsidiary of the British Broadcasting Corporation, formed out of a restructuring of its predecessor BBC Enterprises in 1995. In the year to 31 March 2010 it made a profit of £145m on a turnover of £1.074bn. The company had made a profit of £106m...
. Additionally, 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...
programmes were edited to fit the time slot as an original broadcast for an hour long programme on the BBC might be as much as 58 minutes long, whereas the same programme on Blighty might be 42 minutes long without the commercials.
- A Life of GrimeA Life of GrimeA Life of Grime is a BBC reality series following the work of environmental health inspectors...
- Air Medics
- Amazing Adventures of a Nobody
- Billy Connolly’s World Tour of England, Wales & Ireland
- Blackpool Medics
- Britain From AboveBritain From AboveBritain From Above is a 2008 six-part British television miniseries in which journalist Andrew Marr takes to the skies of the United Kingdom in search of the view of Britain from above to research all areas of past and present British life...
- British Style Genius
- The Britpop StoryThe Britpop StoryThe Britpop Story is a British television documentary about the Britpop movement which occurred in Britain during the 1990s. Hosted by John Harris, it was first broadcast on BBC Four in August 2005...
- CoastCoast (TV series)Coast is a BBC documentary series first broadcast on BBC Two television in 2005. A second series started on 26 October 2006, a third in early 2007 and a fourth in mid-2009...
- Heir HuntersHeir HuntersHeir Hunters is a BBC television programme focusing on attempts to find missing or unknown heirs, entitled to deceased people's estates before the British Treasury lawfully collects the money. The show follows the work of Probate researchers from a number of different firms to show how the results...
- Jeremy Clarkson Meets the Neighbours
- Monarchy: The Royal Family at Work
- My Brilliant Britain
- Save Our Boozer
- Seaside Rescue
- Sky CopsSky CopsSky Cops is a British reality TV show revealing the work of the air police in the UK. The BBC show follows police helicopters from the South Yorkshire Air Operations Unit and the Metropolitan Police Air Support Unit...
- Traffic CopsTraffic CopsTraffic Cops is a documentary series on BBC One which follows traffic officers from various British police forces. The current series follows Bedfordshire Police. Previous series have followed Cheshire, Hampshire, Humberside, South Wales, South Yorkshire and Sussex police forces...
- Who Do You Think You Are?
External links
- Blighty
- http://www.facebook.com/LoveBlightyBlighty on FacebookFacebookFacebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
] - UKTV at The TV Room
- Blighty at TVARK