Timeline on different UK services

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This page provides a historical timeline of television channels and channel branding carried on Sky UK and other UK television services. It was created using the ^[1] on TV Channel Lists as a reference.

The timeline documents changes to channel identities, logos, regional services and channel numbers. Channel numbers shown are historical and may not represent the current positions of the services.

Overview

The UK television landscape changed significantly during the late 1990s and early 2000s. The expansion of digital satellite television allowed Sky to carry substantially more services than had been possible on analogue satellite television.

The main terrestrial broadcasters occupied the first positions on Sky's electronic programme guide. These included BBC One, BBC Two, the regional ITV services, Channel 4, S4C and Channel 5.

Although the channel numbers were generally consistent, regional differences meant that the service available at a particular number could vary depending on the viewer's location.

Sky UK

Main terrestrial services

Channel	Region	Service	Notes
101	United Kingdom	BBC One	BBC's main general-entertainment television service.
102	United Kingdom	BBC Two	BBC's second national television service.
103	England	ITV	Regional ITV service.
103	Wales	HTV Wales / ITV1 Wales	Regional ITV service for Wales.
103	Scotland	Scottish Television / Grampian Television	Regional ITV services for Scotland.
103	Northern Ireland	UTV	Regional ITV service for Northern Ireland.
104	England, Scotland and Northern Ireland	Channel 4	National Channel 4 service.
104	Wales	S4C	Welsh-language service.
105	United Kingdom	Channel 5	National commercial television service.

1998

During 1998, the principal terrestrial channels retained their established identities while digital television services continued to expand.

Channel	Service	1998 branding	Notes
101	BBC One	File:BBC One 1997.svg	Used the BBC One identity introduced in 1997.
102	BBC Two	File:BBC Two 1997.svg	Used the BBC Two identity introduced during the 1990s.
103	ITV	Regional branding	ITV services were operated under separate regional identities.
104	Channel 4	File:Channel 4 logo 1996.svg	Used the established Channel 4 identity.
104	S4C	File:S4Clogo 1995-2007.png	Welsh service carried in place of Channel 4.
105	Channel 5	File:Channel 5 Old Logo (2).svg	Used its original Channel 5 branding.

1999

In 1999, several broadcasters introduced new visual identities while the basic terrestrial channel numbering remained unchanged.

Channel	Service	Branding	Notes
101	BBC One	File:BBC One 1997.svg	Continued using the 1997 identity.
102	BBC Two	File:BBC Two 1997.svg	Continued using its existing identity.
103	ITV	Regional branding	ITV remained regionally branded.
104	Channel 4	File:Channel 4 logo 1999.svg	New Channel 4 identity introduced.
104	S4C	File:S4Clogo 1995-2007.png	Continued using its existing identity.
105	Channel 5	File:Channel 5 Old Logo (2).svg	Continued using the original Channel 5 identity.

2000

By 2000, the terrestrial services continued to occupy the same principal Sky positions.

Channel	Service	Branding	Notes
101	BBC One	File:BBC One 1997.svg	Continued using the 1997 identity.
102	BBC Two	File:BBC Two 1997.svg	Continued using its existing identity.
103	ITV	Regional branding	Regional ITV services continued.
104	Channel 4	File:Channel 4 logo 1999.svg	Continued using the 1999 identity.
104	S4C	File:S4Clogo 1995-2007.png	Continued in Wales.
105	Channel 5	File:Channel 5 Old Logo (2).svg	Continued using its original branding.

2001

2001 brought further changes to the visual identities of the BBC's main television services.

Channel	Region	Service	Branding	Notes
101	United Kingdom	BBC One	File:BBC One 1997.svg	Continued using the 1997 identity.
102	United Kingdom	BBC Two	File:BBC Two (2001).svg	New BBC Two identity introduced.
103	England	ITV	File:ITV1 logo 2001.svg	ITV1 branding introduced.
103	Wales	ITV1 Wales	File:ITV1 Wales.svg	Regional ITV1 Wales identity.
103	Scotland	Scottish Television / Grampian Television	Regional branding	Scottish ITV services retained regional identities.
103	Northern Ireland	UTV	Regional branding	UTV continued as the Northern Irish ITV service.
104	England, Scotland and Northern Ireland	Channel 4	File:Channel 4 logo 1999.svg	Continued using the 1999 identity.
104	Wales	S4C	File:S4Clogo 1995-2007.png	Continued using its established identity.
105	United Kingdom	Channel 5	File:Channel 5 Old Logo (2).svg	Continued using the original identity.

2002

2002 saw several significant branding changes among the terrestrial channels.

BBC One introduced a new visual identity, while Channel 5 adopted the name and branding Five.

Channel	Region	Service	2002 branding	Notes
101	United Kingdom	BBC One	File:BBC One (2002).svg	New BBC One identity introduced in 2002.
102	United Kingdom	BBC Two	File:BBC Two (2001).svg	Continued using the identity introduced in 2001.
103	England	ITV1	File:ITV1 logo 2001.svg	ITV1 branding continued.
103	Wales	ITV1 Wales	File:ITV1 Wales.svg	Regional ITV1 Wales branding.
103	Scotland	Scottish Television / Grampian Television	Regional branding	Regional Scottish services continued.
103	Northern Ireland	UTV	Regional branding	UTV continued as the Northern Irish service.
104	England, Scotland and Northern Ireland	Channel 4	File:Channel 4 logo 1999.svg	Continued using the 1999 identity.
104	Wales	S4C	File:S4Clogo 1995-2007.png	Continued using its established identity.
105	United Kingdom	Five	File:Five.png	Channel 5 adopted the Five name and branding.

Regional services

One of the most important features of the historical Sky channel line-up was its regional variation.

Channel 103

Channel 103 was used by ITV services throughout the United Kingdom, but the actual broadcaster varied by region.

Region	Service	Historical broadcaster
England	ITV	Regional ITV companies
Wales	ITV1 Wales	HTV Wales
Scotland	STV	Scottish Television and Grampian Television
Northern Ireland	UTV	Ulster Television

The introduction of ITV1 branding during the early 2000s reduced some of the visible differences between the regional services, although regional identities continued to exist.

Channel 104

Channel 104 was occupied by Channel 4 in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

In Wales, the position was occupied by S4C, which provided Welsh-language programming alongside other content.

This meant that viewers in Wales received a different service from viewers elsewhere in the UK despite using the same Sky channel number.

Branding changes

The period from 1998 to 2002 saw several important changes in UK television branding.

BBC

BBC One retained its 1997 identity until the introduction of a new branding package in 2002.

BBC Two received a new identity in 2001.

ITV

ITV's regional structure meant that branding differed between regions. The ITV1 identity was introduced around the beginning of the 2000s, providing a more unified national identity while regional services continued to operate.

Channel 4

Channel 4 introduced a new identity in 1999. The channel remained at position 104 on Sky in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Channel 5

Channel 5 originally launched with the Channel 5 name and branding. In 2002, the service was rebranded as Five.

Channel numbers

The channel numbers in this article are historical Sky EPG positions.

Sky has reorganised its electronic programme guide numerous times. A number used by a channel during one period may therefore have been occupied by a different service at another time.

Regional services could also result in different channels appearing at the same number depending on the viewer's location.

The numbers in this article should not be interpreted as current Sky channel numbers unless explicitly stated.

Timeline

Year	Major developments
1998	BBC One, BBC Two, regional ITV services, Channel 4, S4C and Channel 5 occupy the principal terrestrial positions.
1999	Channel 4 introduces a new identity. Terrestrial channel numbering remains largely unchanged.
2000	Existing terrestrial branding continues while digital television services expand across the Sky platform.
2001	BBC Two introduces a new identity and ITV begins using ITV1 branding.
2002	BBC One receives a new identity and Channel 5 is rebranded as Five.

Future expansion

This timeline is intended to be expanded to cover additional years and services.

Future sections may document:

Additional Sky channels.
Further terrestrial channel branding changes.
Regional ITV branding.
Channel launches and closures.
EPG number changes.
Rebrands and renamed services.
Major changes to Sky's channel line-up.
The transition from analogue to digital television.
The introduction of Freeview and other UK television platforms.

References

↑ "Channel list timeline".^{[user-generated source]}