Sky rebrands Virgin1 as Channel One
BSkyB has announced it will rebrand Virgin1 as Channel One, after paying up to £160 million to buy Virgin Media Television (now known as the Living TV Group).
Channel One will be relaunched on September 3rd, with a new television schedule and marketing campaign. It is available on Freeview, Virgin Media and Sky as a free-to-air service.
Jonathan Webb, managing director of the Living TV Group said: “Channel One will continue to embody the wit and warmth of Virgin1, and inherits the jam-packed schedule that has propelled the channel to the market-beating growth over the last few years.”
Other name changes include Living +2, which has been changed to Living Loves.
BSkyB completed the acquisition of Virgin Media Television last month, gaining channels such as Living, Livingit, Challenge, Challenge Jackpot, Bravo, Bravo 2 and Virgin1, and related websites. However, the Office of Fair Trading is still investigating the deal, as there may be regulatory issues.
Sky have recently faced other investigations, and yesterday Ofcom referred the pay-TV film market to the Competition Commission, threatening Sky’s dominant position. Earlier this year, Sky was forced to wholesale Sky Sports 1 and 2 to rival companies BT and Top Up TV.