Programmes Certain Companies just didn't like

Not really, there wouldn't have been anything to stop them putting the channel on satellite if they so wished. The reason it stayed cable only was because it was meant to be a cable exclusive channel.


L!ve TV was originally going to be a local cable channel called London Live (no connection to the current channel of that name). It then bought out a channel called Wire TV which was owned by a consortium of cable system owners and it launched as a national channel instead

Apparently (according to Richard Bacon on Richard Herring's Leicester Square Theatre Podcast) MirrorGroup had planned to take on Sky for Premier League rights, but then pulled out and went blue in the face in realising how much it would cost, and how little the budget was for L!VE TV.

I think Family Late was an interesting concept, Flextech took over Family Channel, rebranded it Challenge, but they still had to show all of the Family programming until it expired. Solution, show it between 12:30 and 5am, that well established family viewing slot.

The Family Channel in the US is still required to show televangelist Pat Robinson's show The 700 Club despite it being sold 3 times and being renamed to 'Freeform'

EDIT - forgot link: http://www.tvinsider.com/article/62330/as-abc-family-becomes-freeform-heres-why-its-still-stuck-with-the-700-club/

Not too dissimilar to Sky1 still showing Hour of Power at 6:00am on a Sunday.

A good number of ITV stations had local Kids programmes, but there were not going to dance to the networks tune, since there got better ratings else where. Ie Like STV Glen Micheal which always went out on Sunday afternoon.




In January 1982; TSW used 17:15 on Monday and Friday in-between Crossroads for Emmerdale Farm. By 1985 Farm went back to 7pm and The Young Doctors got the 17.15 slot,

EDIT: Yes the episodes were about one week behide , this can be proven since until 1988 Emmerdale had a two week break for xmas, and STV/Gram/Anglia were all showing it week up to xmas unlike the network which had free slots at 7pm,




Everyone had Emmerdale farm at 6.30 Wednesdays and Thursdays during 1988 and 1989, it was moved in part to fill the gaps left by Crossroads. Anglia and Central Moved the soap back to Tues/thurs so for period there were one episode behide the network,

That was cause put into the channel being sold, to ABC then Fox. smart man

The Australia pre school show The Wiggles weren't huge in the UK because broadcasters treated it badly. GMTV gave it a go before Discovery Kids got their hands on it. When DK stopped showing The Wiggles we were wondering where it would go, CBeebies was off because they don't do imports, Playhouse Disney (now Disney Junior) probably weren't interested, leaving Nick Jr as a only appropriate channel to show The Wiggles, they weren't huge despite Nick Jr airing it for almost a decade.

I'm surprised Sky One never aired pre school shows in the 1990s considering it was the all rounded general entertainment channel in its heyday. Had Sky One showed interest in pre school shows at the time then they would've aired The Wiggles and be a huge hit for the channel just like Pokemon was.

I thought Home and Away replaced Crossroads?
It was Fox then ABC actually. Family Channel > Fox Family > ABC Family > Freeform.

No, and remember that was year later. From Jan 1988 Emmerdale went to Wed/ Thursday at 18.30 to partly fill gap left by Crossroad when the series went to two episodes a week on Mon/tues. But as said Stv and Grampians move Crossroads back to 17.10

Home and away started in Feb 1989, because of the HUGE ratings neighbors got and ITV were like were having some of that cake. Alas H&W got the slot 17.10 slot, yet if you lived in Thames, Central or Anglia area Home and away was at 6pm, but many of the other stations had local news then and local programming at 18.30.




I was close

Talking of Home and Away it's worth mentioning Shortland Street - an afternoon staple for some regions (especially Central), but not seen on others - or treated quite poorly in comparison and ultimately dropped. And apart from a brief revival on Living it's not found a UK home since.

Thames appeared not to like Falcon Crest, breaking away from the networked evening transmissions (from Central, I believe) during season two, in 1983. A year later it returned in an afternoon slot.

Eventually all regions went their own way with Falcon Crest - Central kept it in prime time until 1987 (along with Tyne Tees and STV who normally screened it via the Central feed), but most regions had moved it to afternoons or late night by 1985/86. Granada were about two seasons behind most other regions by 1988.

Incidentally, Sky bought the rights to the final two seasons so no ITV region showed series 8 or 9 (1988-89 and 1989-90), and some may have even ditched season 7.

I remember being fascinated as a kid in London, glancing at the 'regional variations' list in the Radio Times and seeing this mysterious show that aired in half the country but not the capital!