 | |
| Country | Australia |
|---|---|
| Programming | |
| Language(s) | English |
| Picture format | 576i (SDTV 16:9) |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | NBCUniversal Sony Pictures Television CBS Studios International[1][2] |
| Parent | TV1 General Entertainment Partnership |
| Sister channels | SF |
| History | |
| Launched | 2 April 1995[3] |
| Closed | 31 December 2013 |
| Replaced by | TV Hits |
TV1 was an Australian subscription channel. The station closed on 31 December 2013, along with its sister channel SF. It was replaced on 1 January 2014 by TVH!ts.
TV1 launched as part of the original Galaxy line-up. The channel was jointly owned by Sony Pictures Television and CBS Studios International (CBS Corporation), and NBCUniversal (Comcast). The channel broadcast numerous sitcoms, dramas, Pre-2006 movies and other programming. It referred to itself as 'Always Great'. TV1 has also produced original comedy programs including Stupid, Stupid Man and the Australian drama Killing Time.
TV1 also operated SF.
On 1 June 2010 TV1 switched from the standard 4:3 picture format to the 16:9 picture format, as part of Foxtel's plan to have every channel in widescreen by the end of 2010.[4]
It was initially thought that there would be no benefit to consumers for TV1 to switch from 4:3 to 16:9, as most of its programming was in 4:3. However, recent additions to TV1's programming schedule has resulted in increased 16:9 content. This meant that moving to a widescreen format would, in fact, be the best choice for TV1 as it would accommodate the increasing number of widescreen programs that it originally cropped to a 4:3 or 14:9 ratio.
In 2012 TV1 announced a restructure retrenching several of its executives.[5]
On 16 August 2013, it was announced that TV1's carriage agreement with Foxtel was set to expire in December 2013, and that negotiations had failed to create a new carriage deal. With Foxtel being the sole subscription TV provider in Australia, this meant that it was expected that TV1, and its sister channel SF, would close. Foxtel announced that a general-entertainment channel would replace TV1 and would continue to offer the main content currently on offer.[6] TV1 later announced they were exploring options in which they could continue operations, such as launching their service on IPTV, Crackle, or Apple TV services.[7] On 16 October 2013, it was announced that TVH!TS would replace TV1 on Foxtel as of 1 January 2014.[8] Ultimately, TV1 closed at midnight on 31 December 2013.[9]