On all the UKTV History Idents and Adverts I've seen they only advertise about being on Sky, ntl and Telewest. Why do they do this? They shouldn't be ashamed of being on Freeview
If/when the channel goes widescreen, 24/7 and has interactive services (which they incessantly remind you are available on Sky), then they can be taken a bit more seriously.
It would seem strange to pay a lot for carriage and not shout about being there. hey do have a very low EPG position relative to other platforms, maybe they fell DTT viewers are more likely to stumble across it?
yeh i noticed that , i bet they would get a lot of freeviewers as well it shows some very good programs, it shows better programs than discovery. uktv history is ace mabye when more people have freeview then it might advertise the fact that they are on freeview
I seen an advert for UKTV Style, and tat the end it had a strap at the bottom telling you where to find it, and it mentioned it was on Top Up TV. They are doing it, but only for osme of their channels...
On all the UKTV History Idents and Adverts I've seen they only advertise about being on Sky, ntl and Telewest. Why do they do this? They shouldn't be ashamed of being on Freeview
There's a simple answer to that. UKTV are a pay TV business. They have no commitment to free broadcasting. The only reason UK History and UK Bright Ideas are on Freeview is so that they can act as barkers for pay TV so that people can pay to watch their other channels (and indeed, pay to watch the two that they allready have).
With that in mind, there is no point in them advertising their presence on a free service, for it is not a free service that they are trying to sell.
They do however list TUTV channel numbers, because they are pay channels and thus are bringing in a subscription revenue.
It really pisses me off when they don't advertise the channels not being on Freeview just for the sake of money. Look at ABC1 and ITV3, they're only on (or to be on) Freeview so they're not getting any cash from subs. And even if they do go on $ky, only avaliable through subs, they will always advertise as being on Freeview.
On all the UKTV History Idents and Adverts I've seen they only advertise about being on Sky, ntl and Telewest. Why do they do this? They shouldn't be ashamed of being on Freeview
What would be the point, let's face it nobody is gonna buy a DTT box just to watch UKTVHistory or UKTVBI , and if you already have Sky or DTT then you know they're there, no need to waste good money advertising, and they just leave TUTV to do there UKTVGold ads for them... (though I haven't seen a TUTV add for months, are they still in business ???)
What would be the point, let's face it nobody is gonna buy a DTT box just to watch UKTVHistory or UKTVBI , and if you already have Sky or DTT then you know they're there, no need to waste good money advertising, and they just leave TUTV to do there UKTVGold ads for them... (though I haven't seen a TUTV add for months, are they still in business ???)
There is the point that the greater the audience, the more the advertisers are charged and the greater the income to the TV company, so a few extra thousand (hundred thousand, whatever) could push the advertising rates up a notch.
UKTV Bright Ideas is Freeviews worst channel and UKTV History well it should really be called UKTV Past Wars..which can be rather boring I wish there was more british history programmes not focusing on war. UKTV must be cheap to not wanna associate themselves with Freeview whilst advertising their channels.
One things for sure I'd love to see these UKTV channels in widescreen mind you same would go for the Sky channels esp. Sky News as i always have to change my TV aspect to make it look right with graphics and logo sticking too far up the screen.. bargh
It really pisses me off when they don't advertise the channels not being on Freeview just for the sake of money. Look at ABC1 and ITV3, they're only on (or to be on) Freeview so they're not getting any cash from subs. And even if they do go on $ky, only avaliable through subs, they will always advertise as being on Freeview.
Well every broadcaster in this country except for the BBC (and to a lesser extent Channel 4) are wholely commercial. Money is all they care about - they are businesses. I'm not saying you don't have a right to be annoyed, but I don't know why you are surprised - what possible reason do UKTV have to promote the FTA watching of their channels when they are a pay TV business?
ABC1 could possibly turn out to be the most annoying broadcaster in British TV because of the American style breaks they've introduced - a style which will doubtless remain when they introduce advertising. ITV3, despite what various idiots in this forum would have you believe, is only not on Sky because Sky can't accomodate any more channels on their EPG (with the exception of those which allready had carriage in place by April) until 2005. Whether or not it will be FTA remains to be seen, but it WILL go on Sky.
One things for sure I'd love to see these UKTV channels in widescreen mind you same would go for the Sky channels esp. Sky News as i always have to change my TV aspect to make it look right with graphics and logo sticking too far up the screen.. bargh
Much of UKTV's content is 4:3. Whilst some channels (notable UK Style and UK Food) have a case for a change to widescreen, most are just fine in 4:3.
Sky are taking a refreshingly mature view on widescreen programming (in marked contrast to the BBC), and are phasing it in within a suitable timeframe. The movie channels have gone widescreen, Sky Sports is in widescreen most of the time, Sky One has widescreen programming when it's appropriate. I can't see much justification for changing anything else over at the present time. Sky News in particular I think will be at the bottom of the pile as far as a switch to widescreen is concerned - almost all agency footage is 4:3, they've demonstrated that 4:3 graphics work fine, most 'talking head' shots work better in 4:3 because there is no gaping areas of blank space at the sides, and with very few exceptions, reports are not disadvantaged by being in 4:3.
UKTV Bright Ideas is Freeviews worst channel and UKTV History well it should really be called UKTV Past Wars..which can be rather boring I wish there was more british history programmes not focusing on war. UKTV must be cheap to not wanna associate themselves with Freeview whilst advertising their channels.
Well that was the point, UK Bright Ideas and UK History ARE cheap fillers they invented out of nowhere in order to get some barker channels on DTT. UK Bright Ideas shows rights-free crap on a 4 hour (previously 2 hour) loop, UK History has some good programming, but it gets repeated far too often and as you say it is too burried in wars. They are never going to invest in these two channels to any great extent, becase their purpose is to make people subscribe to a pay TV service so that they might watch the other UKTV channels. That is why they do not advertise Freeview LCN's for these channels - they don't want to shout about the fact that you can get two of their channels for free.
you watch $ky news how can you watch that dreadful 24 hour news channel itv news is better than $ky news at least they can read auto-cue. bbc news 24 is the best though. UKTV history is a very good channel i bet a lot of people will watch it on freeview they do some really good documentaries, UKTV BI is rubbish and yes it is the worst channel on freeview by a long way
Well that was the point, UK Bright Ideas and UK History ARE cheap fillers they invented out of nowhere in order to get some barker channels on DTT. UK Bright Ideas shows rights-free crap on a 4 hour (previously 2 hour) loop, UK History has some good programming, but it gets repeated far too often and as you say it is too burried in wars. They are never going to invest in these two channels to any great extent, becase their purpose is to make people subscribe to a pay TV service so that they might watch the other UKTV channels.
If you actually check the BARB ratings you will see that UK History gets a very healthy audience. It is more than UK People and UK Docs combined. it's ratings in comparison to the History Channel are very good.
The channel is doing very well - it is therefore quite clear that UKTV has all the investment it needs to actually work.
A lot of people on this thread seem to deride UK History on the basis of their own predjuidices against the channel. I suggest they check their facts and see how well UK History is doing for themselves.
Sick of this UKTV History bashing it is the ONLY quality channel on Freeview, not from the BBC. And as for repeats hell its a damn site better than ABC1 (just how many times are they going to repeat Sportsnight series 1?)
What would people prefer? A shopping channel!!! UKTV Makeover?
Believe it or not there are quite a few UKTV History fans and I am frankly finding these whingers a little bit tiresome. I am sorry if some consider it a little too war based, well durh what are the major events of history? War!! What has caused the major upheavels in history? Believe it or not it is war in all its forms.
Some people need to grow up. Maybe even try it instead of griping.
Sick of this UKTV History bashing it is the ONLY quality channel on Freeview, not from the BBC. And as for repeats hell its a damn site better than ABC1 (just how many times are they going to repeat Sportsnight series 1?)
What would people prefer? A shopping channel!!! UKTV Makeover?
Believe it or not there are quite a few UKTV History fans and I am frankly finding these whingers a little bit tiresome. I am sorry if some consider it a little too war based, well durh what are the major events of history? War!! What has caused the major upheavels in history? Believe it or not it is war in all its forms.
Some people need to grow up. Maybe even try it instead of griping.
It's a good channel, but I'd like to see the improvements I mentioned above.
Sky have finally bit the bullet and are introducing a text service, so why can't UKTV History.
What I don't like about Sky being widescreen is that they still insist on showing most adverts in 4:3 (or 14:9 with black bars) even though all adverts are now in 16:9. Why do they need to do this, especially if the adverts are in the break of a widescreen programme?
UKTV History shows quite a few repeats of BBC-tv produced shows.
Presumably all of these broadcast are in 4:3 format, even if the original was produced in 16:9 WS format, or am I in error?
You are quite correct, all 'UKTV' channels broadcast 16:9 content in 14:9 in a 4:3 frame. As the amount of 16:9 content shown on 'UKTV' increases hopefully this will be sorted.
Also in the 'Freeview' brochure for retailers it mentions that the most wanted channels by consumers include UK History (CBeebies was also on the list of 4 or 5)
Comments
If/when the channel goes widescreen, 24/7 and has interactive services (which they incessantly remind you are available on Sky), then they can be taken a bit more seriously.
It is odd though that UKTV don't show Freeview in there adverts though.
Padzter
With that in mind, there is no point in them advertising their presence on a free service, for it is not a free service that they are trying to sell.
They do however list TUTV channel numbers, because they are pay channels and thus are bringing in a subscription revenue.
What would be the point, let's face it nobody is gonna buy a DTT box just to watch UKTVHistory or UKTVBI , and if you already have Sky or DTT then you know they're there, no need to waste good money advertising, and they just leave TUTV to do there UKTVGold ads for them... (though I haven't seen a TUTV add for months, are they still in business ???)
There is the point that the greater the audience, the more the advertisers are charged and the greater the income to the TV company, so a few extra thousand (hundred thousand, whatever) could push the advertising rates up a notch.
One things for sure I'd love to see these UKTV channels in widescreen mind you same would go for the Sky channels esp. Sky News as i always have to change my TV aspect to make it look right with graphics and logo sticking too far up the screen.. bargh
ABC1 could possibly turn out to be the most annoying broadcaster in British TV because of the American style breaks they've introduced - a style which will doubtless remain when they introduce advertising. ITV3, despite what various idiots in this forum would have you believe, is only not on Sky because Sky can't accomodate any more channels on their EPG (with the exception of those which allready had carriage in place by April) until 2005. Whether or not it will be FTA remains to be seen, but it WILL go on Sky.
Much of UKTV's content is 4:3. Whilst some channels (notable UK Style and UK Food) have a case for a change to widescreen, most are just fine in 4:3.
Sky are taking a refreshingly mature view on widescreen programming (in marked contrast to the BBC), and are phasing it in within a suitable timeframe. The movie channels have gone widescreen, Sky Sports is in widescreen most of the time, Sky One has widescreen programming when it's appropriate. I can't see much justification for changing anything else over at the present time. Sky News in particular I think will be at the bottom of the pile as far as a switch to widescreen is concerned - almost all agency footage is 4:3, they've demonstrated that 4:3 graphics work fine, most 'talking head' shots work better in 4:3 because there is no gaping areas of blank space at the sides, and with very few exceptions, reports are not disadvantaged by being in 4:3.
Well that was the point, UK Bright Ideas and UK History ARE cheap fillers they invented out of nowhere in order to get some barker channels on DTT. UK Bright Ideas shows rights-free crap on a 4 hour (previously 2 hour) loop, UK History has some good programming, but it gets repeated far too often and as you say it is too burried in wars. They are never going to invest in these two channels to any great extent, becase their purpose is to make people subscribe to a pay TV service so that they might watch the other UKTV channels. That is why they do not advertise Freeview LCN's for these channels - they don't want to shout about the fact that you can get two of their channels for free.
If you actually check the BARB ratings you will see that UK History gets a very healthy audience. It is more than UK People and UK Docs combined. it's ratings in comparison to the History Channel are very good.
The channel is doing very well - it is therefore quite clear that UKTV has all the investment it needs to actually work.
A lot of people on this thread seem to deride UK History on the basis of their own predjuidices against the channel. I suggest they check their facts and see how well UK History is doing for themselves.
What would people prefer? A shopping channel!!! UKTV Makeover?
Believe it or not there are quite a few UKTV History fans and I am frankly finding these whingers a little bit tiresome. I am sorry if some consider it a little too war based, well durh what are the major events of history? War!! What has caused the major upheavels in history? Believe it or not it is war in all its forms.
Some people need to grow up. Maybe even try it instead of griping.
Sky have finally bit the bullet and are introducing a text service, so why can't UKTV History.
That statement is SO unfair to f tn!
Presumably all of these broadcast are in 4:3 format, even if the original was produced in 16:9 WS format, or am I in error?
The comment about ITV3 being exclusive to Freeview was written before ITV3 was added to the Sky EPG.
Maybe i should read things fully rather than skimming
You are quite correct, all 'UKTV' channels broadcast 16:9 content in 14:9 in a 4:3 frame. As the amount of 16:9 content shown on 'UKTV' increases hopefully this will be sorted.
Also in the 'Freeview' brochure for retailers it mentions that the most wanted channels by consumers include UK History (CBeebies was also on the list of 4 or 5)