ITV4

ITV4
Launched 1 November 2005
Owned by ITV Digital Channels Ltd
(ITV plc)
Picture format 16:9 576i (SDTV)
1080i (HDTV)
Audience share 1.02%
0.05% (+1) (August 2018 (2018-08), BARB)
Slogan The Home of Sport and Cult Classics
Country United Kingdom
Replaced ITV News Channel
Sister channel(s) ITV
ITV2
ITV3
ITVBe
CITV
The Store
ITV Box Office
Timeshift service ITV4 +1
Website www.itv.com/hub/itv4
Availability
Terrestrial
Freeview Channel 24
Channel 59 (+1)
Satellite
Freesat Channel 117
Channel 154 (+1)
Sky
(UK only)		 Channel 120 (SD/HD)
Channel 220 (+1)
Channel 818 (SD)
Astra 2E (28.2°E) 10758 V 22000 5/6
Astra 2G (28.2°E) 11097 V 23000 3/4 (HD)
Cable
Virgin Media (UK) Channel 118
Channel 175 (+1)
Channel 178 (HD)
Virgin Media Ireland Channel 132
Naxoo
(Switzerland)		 Channel 220
UPC Cablecom
(Switzerland)		 Channel 162/178
WightFibre Channel 8
IPTV
SwisscomTV
(Switzerland)		 Channel arbitrary
Streaming media
ITV Hub Watch live (UK only)
TVPlayer Watch live (UK only)
Virgin TV Anywhere Watch live (UK only)
Watch live (Ireland only)
Sky Go Watch live
(UK only)

ITV4 is a British television station which was launched on 1 November 2005. It is owned by ITV Digital Channels Ltd, a division of ITV plc, and is part of the ITV network. The channel has a male-orientated line-up, including sport, police shows and US comedies and dramas, as well as classic ITV action series of the 1960s and 1970s. ITV4 is broadcast on digital terrestrial, satellite, cable and IPTV platforms.

History

It was expected that ITV4 would replace the existing Men & Motors channel in the same way Granada Plus was rebranded into ITV3, until ITV plc stated that the two channels would run alongside each other, forcing the ITV News Channel on Freeview to timeshare with ITV4. ITV replaced the failing News Channel with CITV. Both channels were on Freeview until ITV plc took Men & Motors off Freeview (although it remained on other platforms for some time until April 2010) and replaced it with the live quiz channel ITV Play. Some programming from Men & Motors were transferred to ITV4. ITV4 was the first channel to use the new on-screen look that was rolled out across the rest of ITV plc's channels on 16 January 2006. Red Bee Media designed the new logos and presentation for the entire corporation that saw the end of the yellow and blue squared look designed for ITV, ITV2 and the cube look for ITV3. An ITV annual report revealed that an old style logo was designed for the channel but was never used on air.

ITV4 was launched on UPC Ireland in the Republic of Ireland on 4 January 2010, marking the first time the channel has been officially available in the country. The channel had already been (and remains) available to Irish viewers on free-to-air satellite for some time, but it has not been listed in the Sky electronic programme guide since its removal on 25 January 2006. On 1 April 2011, ITV4 was removed from UPC Ireland along with ITV2 and ITV3 due to the expiry of a carriage agreement between UPC and ITV.[1] UPC Ireland claim that ITV is not in a position to renegotiate the deal because ITV had struck a deal with another channel provider to provide it with exclusive rights to air certain content from the channels. Conversely, UPC Ireland also claims to have been in discussions right up to the last moment in order to continue broadcasting the channels.[2] ITV2, ITV3 and ITV4 were restored to the UPC Ireland line-up on 20 December 2011. TV3 and its sister channel 3e already hold carriage agreement to air certain ITV content within the Republic of Ireland,[3] alternatively UTV is available within the Republic. ITV2 is available along with ITV3 and ITV4 within Switzerland, all three channels are available on SwisscomTV and UPC Cablecom.

Launch

ITV4's launch night was on Freeview channel 30. Although it was broadcast on the Astra 2D satellite used by Sky, so users could manually tune it in. It was launched on Sky channel 120, after ITV2 and ITV3 in the listings, on 7 November. Prior to this date, some sporting content was simulcast on Men & Motors in an ITV4 on M&M strand.

Subsidiary channels

ITV4 +1

In late October 2008, it was announced that a timeshifted (+1) version of ITV4 would be launched by the end of the year.[4] ITV4 +1 was launched on Sky on 1 December 2008, on Freesat on 9 December 2008 and on Virgin Media on 25 March 2010. It was removed from Sky on 11 January 2011, due to the launch of ITV +1 taking up space on the EPG; the channel continued to be available on Freesat and Virgin Media. On 31 May 2012, ITV4 +1 returned to Sky, to channel 225, moving ITV2 HD to 226, ITV3 HD to 227 and ITV4 HD to 295. The channels moved to 206, 207, 208 and 228 on 3 July 2012 to make space for new channels.[5] In February 2014, ITV4 +1 gained an EPG slot on the Freeview platform (channel 54); however, broadcasting hours are only 04:00 to 06:00 for now. The channel timeshares with other ITV Digital channels CITV, ITV3 +1 and JML Store (formerly The Store). Also, ITV4 Plus launched on 24 March 2014, as a placeholder channel for ITVBe and ITV Encore. ITV4 Plus closed on 7 May 2014. On 20 May 2014, ITV4 +1 moved to channel 26 on Freeview, moving to 62 on 1 September 2014 following the launch of an ITVBe placeholder, and again it moved to channel 59 on 14 June 2017 replacing BT Sport Showcase on Freeview replaced by at HD service on Freeview HD 115.

ITV4 HD

A high-definition simulcast of ITV4, ITV4 HD, was launched on 15 November 2010 on Sky.[6][7] The channel was initially available through Sky's pay subscription service in a non-exclusive deal,[8][9] before being added to Virgin Media's service on 14 March 2013.[10] ITV4 HD's high definition content includes films, and sports events such as the British Touring Car Championship,[11] 2010–11 Ashes Series, Tour de France, Players Championship Finals, UEFA Europa League, and Indian Premier League Cricket.[12]

Branding

2013 rebranding

In line with the corporate rebranding of ITV, ITV4 received a new look on 14 January 2013. The channel received a "slate grey" logo and became the "home of sport and cult classics". Channel promotion includes pub factoids and idents featuring viewer nominated "dreams come true".[13]

Programming

Original programming

  • Take The Tower (2018–present)
  • Football Genius (2018–present)

Sports coverage

Before ITV4's launch in 2005, ITV's digital sports coverage was on ITV2, but after its launch all sports coverage moved to ITV4.

Current coverage

Football

  • UEFA Europa League (highlights from 2015–2018, live on BT Sport)[14]
  • International Friendlies, Qualifiers and Play-Offs (2010–present, from 2014–2018 at least one qualifier live per matchday not involving a UK Home Nation, shared with Sky Sports)
  • England National Team Highlights and Re-runs (2008–present, highlights also on Sky Sports)
  • Scotland, Wales & Northern Ireland National Team Highlights (2014–2018, live on Sky Sports)
  • UEFA Champions League Highlights (2015–2018, live on BT Sport)
  • UEFA Super Cup Highlights (2008–2014, live on ITV4 if a British club is involved & highlights from 2015)
  • Audi Cup (2009–present, shared with LFC TV)

Cycling

Rugby union

Horse racing

  • Weekly Saturday Afternoon Horse Racing, 40 days of big meetings such as Grand National on ITV with 60 days of horse racing on ITV4 (2017–present)

Motorsport

  • Isle of Man TT (from 2009–present)
  • Ulster Grand Prix (highlights on ITV4, live coverage and highlights on BBC Sport Northern Ireland)
  • British Touring Car Championship (from 2005–present, live until 2022 with highlights on ITV)
  • British Superbikes (live from 2005–2007 and highlights from 2009–present, live on British Eurosport)
  • Superbike World Championship (highlights from 2016–present, live on British Eurosport)
  • Motorsport UK (highlights from 2005–present)
  • Goodwood Festival of Speed (highlights on ITV, shared with Sky Sports F1)
  • BRDC Formula 3 Highlights[18]

Darts

  • European Championship (2008, 2011, 2013–present)[19]
  • Players Championship Finals (2009–2010, 2011–present)
  • The PDC Masters (2013–present: New PDC tournament, not to be confused with the BDO Winmau World Masters with ITV covered from 1974-1988)
  • UK Open (2014–present, previously on Sky Sports)
  • World Series of Darts Finals (2015–present)
  • World Series of Darts (6 tournaments with live or delayed coverage on ITV4 from 2015–present)

Tennis

Snooker

Boxing

  • The Big Fight Live (2005–2010 & 2017–present, selected fights on ITV4 with others on ITV Box Office)

Former coverage

Football

Boat race

Boxing

  • Frank Warren fights (2005–2008, now on BoxNation)
  • Hennessey fights (2008–2010, now on Channel 5 and Primetime)
  • Undercard of main fight (usually shown on ITV4 with main event on ITV with all fights from 2008–2010 on ITV4)
  • Carl Frampton Live: Undercard live on ITV4, Frampton Live on ITV & highlights on ITV4

Cricket

  • Ashes Cricket (highlights from 2010–2011)
  • IPL Cricket (2010–2014, now on Sky Sports)
  • Cricket World Cup Highlights (2015, live on Sky Sports with highlights on ITV & ITV4)

Snooker

Darts

Motorsport

  • Formula One (highlights and re-runs from 2005-2008, now on Channel 4 and Sky Sports F1)
  • GP2 Series (live and highlights from 2005-2008, now on Sky Sports F1)
  • DTM (highlights from 2012-?)
  • Formula E (2014–2016, now on Channel 5)
  • World Rally Championship (2005–2008 & 2013–2015, coverage moved to Dave in 2008 and Channel 5 in 2015)
  • MotoGP (highlights from 2014–2016, now on Channel 5)

Cycling

Rugby Union

Tennis

  • Masters Tennis from the Royal Albert Hall (2010–2014, now on Sky Sports)

On-air identity

References

  1. ↑ "Bad news for fans of Poirot: UPC is losing ITV2, 3 and 4". Business ETC. 31 March 2011. Retrieved 29 June 2014.
  2. ↑ "ITV2, ITV3, & ITV4 channels are no longer available". UPC Ireland. 1 April 2011. Archived from the original on 6 October 2015.
  3. ↑ "UPC lose ITV's digital channels". TheAirwaves. 1 April 2011. Archived from the original on 6 September 2011.
  4. ↑ "Itv4 +1 Live Stream". Live TV Online. 31 May 2012. Retrieved 29 June 2014.
  5. ↑ "ITV4 +1 returns to Sky". Entertainment Interactive. 31 May 2012. Retrieved 29 June 2014.
  6. ↑ "ITV plc 2010 Interim Results & Sky deal". ITV plc. 3 August 2010. Archived from the original on 12 July 2014. Retrieved 29 June 2014.
  7. ↑ Laughlin, Andrew (15 November 2010). "ITV3 HD and ITV4 HD go live on Sky". Tech News. Digital Spy. Retrieved 29 June 2014.
  8. ↑ Sweney, Mark (2 March 2011). "ITV earmarks £12m to hire new talent to break international hit drought". London: The Guardian. Retrieved 29 June 2014.
  9. ↑ Sweney, Mark (3 August 2010). "ITV unveils pay-TV push". London: The Guardian. Retrieved 29 June 2014.
  10. ↑ "Virgin Media introduces HDelightful ITV channels". Virgin Media. 14 March 2013. Retrieved 14 March 2013.
  11. ↑ Laughlin, Andrew (11 October 2010). "ITV to air British Touring Cars in HD". Media News. Digital Spy. Retrieved 29 June 2014.
  12. ↑ Brenkley, Stephen (5 March 2010). "ITV4 to broadcast Indian Premier League". Sport > Cricket. The Independent. Retrieved 29 June 2014.
  13. ↑ Laughlin, Andrew (16 November 2012). "ITV1 to become 'ITV' in major corporate rebrand". Digital Spy. Retrieved 9 December 2012.
  14. ↑ Sweney, Mark (17 October 2011). "ITV snatches Europa League from Channel 5". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 30 June 2014.
  15. ↑ Jessica Hodgson (30 July 2001). "ITV pays £5m for Tour de France". London: The Guardian. Retrieved 23 July 2009.
  16. ↑ Kate McMahon (2008). "ITV4 secures Tour De France to 2013". Broadcast Now. Retrieved 23 July 2009.
  17. 1 2 3 4 5 "ITV lands new Tour de France deal". itv.com. 9 September 2013. Retrieved 27 February 2014.
  18. ↑ "Television Coverage". BRDC Formula 4. Retrieved 27 February 2014.
  19. ↑ "European Championship On ITV4". PDC. 24 June 2011. Retrieved 24 June 2011.
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