Universal HD is an HDTV
cable televisionCable television is a system of providing television programs to consumers via radio frequency signals transmitted to televisions through coaxial cables or digital light pulses through fixed optical fibers located on the subscriber's property, much like the over-the-air method used in traditional...
network owned by NBCUniversal. The channel was known as Bravo HD+ until December 1, 2004. The network exclusively broadcasts in
high definitionHigh-definition television is video that has resolution substantially higher than that of traditional television systems . HDTV has one or two million pixels per frame, roughly five times that of SD...
1080i1080i is the shorthand name for a high-definition television mode. The i means interlaced video; 1080i differs from 1080p, in which the p stands for progressive scan. The term 1080i assumes a widescreen aspect ratio of 16:9, implying a frame size of 1920×1080 pixels...
. It includes a mix of films, dramas, series, sports, specials & performance arts programming from the NBCUniversal library, most having aired on one of the NBCUniversal-owned networks, including
NBCThe National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
, Bravo,
USA NetworkUSA Network is an American cable television channel launched in 1971. Once a minor player in basic cable, the network has steadily gained popularity because of breakout hits like Monk, Psych, Burn Notice, Royal Pains, Covert Affairs, White Collar, Monday Night RAW, Suits, and reruns of the various...
,
SyfySyfy , formerly known as the Sci-Fi Channel and SCI FI, is an American cable television channel featuring science fiction, supernatural, fantasy, reality, paranormal, wrestling, and horror programming. Launched on September 24, 1992, it is part of the entertainment conglomerate NBCUniversal, a...
,
SleuthCloo is a digital cable television channel with programming dedicated to the crime and mystery genres. It is owned and operated by NBCUniversal. It launched on January 1, 2006, replacing Trio...
,
ChillerChiller is a 24-hour American cable and satellite television channel specializing in horror and suspense programming. conglomerate NBCUniversal.- Origin :...
and
OxygenOxygen is an American cable television specialty channel with television programming marketed towards women, with a format similar to Lifetime.- History :...
. The network began carrying a Wednesday night block of HD Sundance Channel content in August 2007. In early 2008, Universal HD unveiled a new logo and a newly redesigned website.
Universal HD also airs sporting events from NBC Universal networks such as providing the high definition simulcast of USA Network's coverage of the
U.S. OpenThe US Open, formally the United States Open Tennis Championships, is a hardcourt tennis tournament which is the modern iteration of one of the oldest tennis championships in the world, the U.S. National Championship, which for men's singles was first contested in 1881...
tennis tournament in 2006 and 2007, along with their first and second round coverage of The Masters and the
Westminster Kennel Club Dog ShowThe Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show is a two-day, all-breed benched conformation show that takes place at Madison Square Garden in New York City every year. The first Westminster show was held in 1877....
in 2007. In addition, the network was used to broadcast additional footage from the
2006 Winter OlympicsThe 2006 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XX Olympic Winter Games, was a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated in Turin, Italy from February 10, 2006, through February 26, 2006. This marked the second time Italy hosted the Olympic Winter Games, the first being the VII Olympic Winter...
not aired on
NBCThe National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
. This was mostly limited to men's and women's
hockeyIce hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
qualifying rounds and semifinals. This is in addition to airing simulcasts of USA, MSNBC, and CNBC coverage of those same games.
In 2008 Universal HD has aired US Olympic Trial events during or soon after their original airing on MSNBC and USA. From August 9, 2008 through August 24, Universal HD aired Olympic event
simulcastSimulcast, shorthand for "simultaneous broadcast", refers to programs or events broadcast across more than one medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at the same time. For example, Absolute Radio is simulcast on both AM and on satellite radio, and the BBC's Prom concerts are often...
s taken from
MSNBCMSNBC is a cable news channel based in the United States available in the US, Germany , South Africa, the Middle East and Canada...
,
CNBCCNBC is a satellite and cable television business news channel in the U.S., owned and operated by NBCUniversal. The network and its international spinoffs cover business headlines and provide live coverage of financial markets. The combined reach of CNBC and its siblings is 390 million viewers...
and
USA NetworkUSA Network is an American cable television channel launched in 1971. Once a minor player in basic cable, the network has steadily gained popularity because of breakout hits like Monk, Psych, Burn Notice, Royal Pains, Covert Affairs, White Collar, Monday Night RAW, Suits, and reruns of the various...
in high definition.
Universal HD was the broadcaster for the live HD version of the Sundance Channel feed for
Live Earth-Background:Founded by Emmy-winning producer Kevin Wall, in partnership with former U.S. Vice President Al Gore, Live Earth was built upon the belief that entertainment has the power to transcend social and cultural barriers to move the world community to action...
, which featured no commentary or hosts.
The network regularly airs horror movies branded "
ChillerChiller is a 24-hour American cable and satellite television channel specializing in horror and suspense programming. conglomerate NBCUniversal.- Origin :...
on Universal HD," often featuring titles from its sister NBCUniversal network.
In November 2007, Universal HD became the exclusive USA broadcaster of
World CupThe FIVB World Cup is a men's and women's volleyball competition. Created in 1965 and 1973 , it is an international qualification event for the Olympic Games...
Volleyball.
In 2008, Universal HD added reruns of
JerichoJericho is an American action/drama series that centers on the residents of the fictional town of Jericho, Kansas, in the aftermath of nuclear attacks on 23 major cities in the contiguous United States...
,
Friday Night LightsFriday Night Lights is an American sports drama television series adapted by Peter Berg, Brian Grazer and David Nevins from a book and film of the same name. The series details events surrounding a high school football team based in fictional Dillon, Texas, with particular focus given to team...
,
KidnappedKidnapped is an American television drama series from Sony Pictures Television which aired on NBC from September 20, 2006, to August 11, 2007...
,
ThresholdThreshold was a science fiction drama television series that first aired on CBS in September 2005. Produced by Brannon Braga, David S. Goyer and David Heyman, the series focuses on a secret government project investigating the first contact with an extraterrestrial species.The series was first...
,
Touching EvilTouching Evil is a British television drama serial, which began airing in 1997. It was produced by United Productions for Anglia Television, and screened on the ITV network. The first series consisted of six fifty-minute episodes. It was created by Paul Abbott, and written by Abbott with Russell T...
,
PhillyPhilly is a television series created by Steven Bochco that focused on criminal defense attorney Kathleen Maguire . It lasted a full season and was canceled due to low ratings...
,
Big Apple"The Big Apple" is a nickname for New York City. It was first popularized in the 1920s by John J. Fitz Gerald, a sports writer for the New York Morning Telegraph...
,
Battlestar GalacticaBattlestar Galactica is an American military science fiction television series, and part of the Battlestar Galactica franchise. The show was developed by Ronald D. Moore as a re-imagining of the 1978 Battlestar Galactica television series created by Glen A. Larson...
,
Andy Barker, P.I.,
My Big Fat Greek LifeMy Big Fat Greek Life is a situation comedy series that ran on CBS in 2003. The series is a continuation on the 2002 movie My Big Fat Greek Wedding and was produced by HBO Television and Tom Hanks' Playtone Productions for Sony Pictures Television....
,
3 lbs.,
South BeachSouth Beach is a primetime television drama that ran from January 4, 2006 until February 22, 2006 on UPN. Created by Matt Cirulnick, one of its executive producers was singer/actress Jennifer Lopez. The program was panned by critics and shunned by viewers, finishing 152nd in the Nielsen TV ratings...
and
Sex, Love & SecretsSex, Love & Secrets is a television series on UPN. It aired in North America during September and October 2005. The show was created by Michael Gans and Richard Register...
, with some of those series having episode premieres on Universal HD, as they were canceled by their respective networks with episodes never aired. Movies continue to run edited for content (though presented in a 16:9 aspect ratio even if the original aspect ratio of the film was wider), but with limited commercial interruption. On Saturday, February 9-Sunday, February 10, 2008, the entire first season of
JerichoJericho is an American action/drama series that centers on the residents of the fictional town of Jericho, Kansas, in the aftermath of nuclear attacks on 23 major cities in the contiguous United States...
was broadcast in a marathon.
https://www.nbcunetworks.com/Assets/HTMLFiles/universalhd/schedules
The network began to air same-week encores of the
World Wrestling EntertainmentWorld Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...
programs
RawWWE Raw ) is a sports entertainment television program for WWE that currently airs on the USA Network in the United States...
, which airs on USA Network, and
ECW, which aired on Syfy, on Saturday nights beginning in early 2009.
ECW was replaced by
NXTWWE NXT is a sports entertainment television program produced by WWE that debuted on February 23, 2010. Described as a hybrid between reality television and WWE's scripted live event shows, the premise of the show follows select talent contracted to WWE's developmental territory Florida...
after
ECW was canceled in February 2010.
NXT moved to WWE.com in October 2010 to accommodate
SmackDown's move to Syfy. Currently, Universal HD airs
Raw,
SmackDown and the WWE's reality series
Tough Enough.
See also
- NBC Universal
NBCUniversal Media, LLC is a media and entertainment company engaged in the production and marketing of entertainment, news, and information products and services to a global customer base...
- Universal Channel
Universal Channel is a television channel specializing in movies and television series in the thriller, drama, comedy, horror, crime and investigation genres, owned by Universal Networks International, a division of NBCUniversal and available on satellite and cable platforms...
- 13th Street
13th Street Universal is a television channel specialising in action and suspense shows and movies. It is owned by NBCUniversal and was launched in France on November 13, 1997 and in Germany on May 1, 1998...
- Hallmark Channel
The Hallmark Channel is a cable television network that broadcasts across the United States. Their programming includes a mix of television movies/miniseries, syndicated series, and lifestyle shows that are appropriate for the whole family...