 | |
| Programming | |
|---|---|
| Picture format | 16:9 576i SDTV |
| Timeshift service | True Entertainment +1 |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| Sister channels | |
| History | |
| Launched | 3 August 2009 |
| Replaced | Showcase TV |
| Closed | 10 September 2019 |
| Replaced by | Great! TV |
| Links | |
| Website | truemovies |
True Entertainment was a British free-to-air television channel that was launched on 3 August 2009,[1] replacing Showcase TV. The change was originally scheduled to happen on 1 July 2009, but a late change put the change "on hold until further notice".[2][3] While the bulk of its programming were movies, similar to sister channels True Movies 1 and True Movies 2, the channel aimed to establish itself as a general entertainment channel.
Its licence first appeared on the Ofcom website in January 2007 (initially named "Toon TV", this was changed to "AnimeCentral" in June 2007, to "True Entertainment" in June 2008, and to "Showcase TV" on 26 August 2008. It then changed back to "True Entertainment" on 10 June 2009. Its logo is the same as the True Movies 1 and True Movies 2.
On 5 July 2010, True Entertainment was launched on Freesat.[4] On 1 March 2011, True Entertainment launched on Virgin Media.[5] True Entertainment was launched on Freeview channel 61, with the exception of transmitters in Wales, on 6 August 2013. It was accompanied by a refreshed schedule to take into account the new Freeview viewers.[6] A temporary duplicate launched on channel 126 on Virgin Media at midnight on 22 July 2018, a slot previously vacated by Alibi prior to the UKTV channels' removals, until the network was restored on 11 August 2018.
True Entertainment +1, a one-hour timeshift channel, was launched on 25 February 2013. The channel was replaced by True Drama on 4 June 2013.[7] The channel relaunched on 3 April 2014, replacing BuzMuzik, which closed due to CSC bringing Starz TV to their list. It closed again on 17 August 2015, with its slot being bought by the Information TV group for Showcase, which moved from channel 192, as its slot was bought by BT Group for their AMC from BT channel. On 30 September 2016, it returned, replacing True Drama. The channel was launched on Virgin Media on 21 July 2018.
On 24 July 2019, it was announced that the channel would be closed and will be replaced by the relaunch of Sony Channel from 10 September 2019.[8][9]
- ^ "Rebranding - Anime Central2" (MS Word). AGB Nielsen Media. 24 July 2009.
- ^ "Anime Central - Rebranding" (MS Word). AGB Nielsen Media. 12 June 2009.
- ^ "Anime Central - Rebranding on hold" (MS Word). AGB Nielsen Media. 30 June 2009.
- ^ "Two new channels launch on Freesat". Digital Spy. 5 July 2010.
- ^ "CSC Media does channel swap on VM". The Airwaves. 2 March 2011. Archived from the original on 24 July 2011.
- ^ "True Entertainment launches on Freeview". a516digital. 6 August 2013.
- ^ "CSC to launch Drama channel". a516digital. 21 May 2012.
- ^ "Sony Pictures Television Revamps Entertainment Portfolio And Launches UK's First Free-To-Air Movie Network". Sky Media. 24 July 2019.
Sony-owned entertainment channel True Entertainment will be relaunched as Sony Channel.
- ^ "Sony to launch free-to-air Christmas pop-up channel". Digital TV Europe. 23 August 2019. Retrieved 1 September 2019.