UKTV Drama
Encyclopedia
Alibi is a digital
television
channel broadcasting in the United Kingdom and Ireland, as part of the UKTV
network of channels. The channel launched on 1 November 1997 and relaunched in it's current format on 7 October 2008. The channel is available on satellite through Sky and on cable, primarily through Virgin Media
.
network on 1 November 1997. The channel, originally name UK Arena, focused on arts programming and was named after the BBC
's flagship arts programme Arena (The BBC
, through BBC Worldwide
, owning half of UKTV and therefore half the channel). However, following disappointing original ratings, the channel's focus was broadened to include all drama series, and was renamed UK Drama as a result on 31 Mrach 2000. The service lasted, with greater viewing figures until 8 March 2004 when, along with the rest of the UKTV network, rebranded as UKTV Drama to better show the central UKTV brand.
Following the successful relaunch and rebranding of the channel UKTV G2
as Dave, the remainder of the UKTV network underwent the same treatment. UKTV Drama was rebranded as Alibi on 7 October 2008, and the channels programming output was redirected from all dramas, to specifically crime dramas. All non-scrime dramas were either transferred to the rebranded GOLD channel, or to the newly created flagship channel Watch
.
announced that it had secured a deal with BSkyB to launch three more high-definition
channels on Sky. As part of Virgin Media's deal to sell its share of UKTV, all five of UKTV's HD channels will be added to Virgin's cable television service by 2012. Alibi HD will launch in 2012, while Dave HD and Watch HD launched in October 2011. All three channels will be HD simulcast
s of the standard-definition
channels.
above a line extending out from the box. When the channel changed to UK Drama in 2000, the idents remained the same, with a change of logo the only noticeable difference.
The next change occurred in 2001, when the logo design was dropped in favour of a new design. The new design resulted in the UK Drama logo standing alone at the bottom of the screen in a blod text, stylised to appear like UK Drama. On the end of the logo, a small design was included. One was assigned to each channel, with the exception of UK Gold and UK Gold 2, to identify what the channel broadcast. In the case of UK Drama, it was a bold, eight pointed star within a circle. The idents themselves were replaced by three men beating drums with water on the surface, so that water flew up whenever a man beat the drum. Each man was bathed in a particular colour light: red, blue and green.
Following the name rechange to UKTV Drama, the generic style was changed. The logo was now an uppercase 'DRAMA' below a UKTV logo, alligned to the left of the screen. The ident used in the background featured a giant glass appearing 'D', moving around in the background. the stations colour at the time was purple, and many of the channels promotions, on the channel and on the rest of the UKTV network featured this background colour.
Following the rebrand to Alibi, the channels idents featured the words associated with crime and murder arranged into different shapes, including the outline of a dead body, a gunshot shattering a pane of glass, the dials of a safe and the beam from a torch illuminating the words. These are accompanied by the alibi logo, seen with interchangeable colours of white, black and red.
archive but also has ITV
series and some exclusive shows from U.S. networks.
Digital television
Digital television is the transmission of audio and video by digital signals, in contrast to the analog signals used by analog TV...
television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
channel broadcasting in the United Kingdom and Ireland, as part of the UKTV
UKTV
UKTV is a digital cable and satellite television network, formed through a joint venture between BBC Worldwide, a commercial subsidiary of the British Broadcasting Corporation, and Scripps Networks Interactive, spun off from The E.W Scripps Company in 2008...
network of channels. The channel launched on 1 November 1997 and relaunched in it's current format on 7 October 2008. The channel is available on satellite through Sky and on cable, primarily through Virgin Media
Virgin Media
Virgin Media Inc. is a company which provides fixed and mobile telephone, television and broadband internet services to businesses and consumers in the United Kingdom...
.
History
The channel origianally launched as part of the new four channel UKTVUKTV
UKTV is a digital cable and satellite television network, formed through a joint venture between BBC Worldwide, a commercial subsidiary of the British Broadcasting Corporation, and Scripps Networks Interactive, spun off from The E.W Scripps Company in 2008...
network on 1 November 1997. The channel, originally name UK Arena, focused on arts programming and was named after the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
's flagship arts programme Arena (The BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
, through BBC Worldwide
BBC Worldwide
BBC Worldwide Limited is the wholly owned commercial subsidiary of the British Broadcasting Corporation, formed out of a restructuring of its predecessor BBC Enterprises in 1995. In the year to 31 March 2010 it made a profit of £145m on a turnover of £1.074bn. The company had made a profit of £106m...
, owning half of UKTV and therefore half the channel). However, following disappointing original ratings, the channel's focus was broadened to include all drama series, and was renamed UK Drama as a result on 31 Mrach 2000. The service lasted, with greater viewing figures until 8 March 2004 when, along with the rest of the UKTV network, rebranded as UKTV Drama to better show the central UKTV brand.
Following the successful relaunch and rebranding of the channel UKTV G2
UKTV G2
Dave is a television channel broadcasting in the United Kingdom and Ireland owned by UKTV. The channel is available on satellite, cable, IPTV and Freeview platforms...
as Dave, the remainder of the UKTV network underwent the same treatment. UKTV Drama was rebranded as Alibi on 7 October 2008, and the channels programming output was redirected from all dramas, to specifically crime dramas. All non-scrime dramas were either transferred to the rebranded GOLD channel, or to the newly created flagship channel Watch
Watch (TV channel)
Watch is a general entertainment channel broadcasting in the United Kingdom and Ireland, as part of the UKTV network. The channel launched on 7 October 2008 on satellite through Sky and on cable primarily through Virgin Media.-History:...
.
Timeshift
The time shift service Alibi +1 was originally launched on 2 May 2006 as UKTV Drama +1, using the frequency previously occupied by UKTV People +1. It features the channels schedule broadcast an hour later, with no special idents or continuity used.Alibi HD
On 29 July 2011, UKTVUKTV
UKTV is a digital cable and satellite television network, formed through a joint venture between BBC Worldwide, a commercial subsidiary of the British Broadcasting Corporation, and Scripps Networks Interactive, spun off from The E.W Scripps Company in 2008...
announced that it had secured a deal with BSkyB to launch three more high-definition
High-definition television
High-definition television is video that has resolution substantially higher than that of traditional television systems . HDTV has one or two million pixels per frame, roughly five times that of SD...
channels on Sky. As part of Virgin Media's deal to sell its share of UKTV, all five of UKTV's HD channels will be added to Virgin's cable television service by 2012. Alibi HD will launch in 2012, while Dave HD and Watch HD launched in October 2011. All three channels will be HD simulcast
Simulcast
Simulcast, shorthand for "simultaneous broadcast", refers to programs or events broadcast across more than one medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at the same time. For example, Absolute Radio is simulcast on both AM and on satellite radio, and the BBC's Prom concerts are often...
s of the standard-definition
Standard-definition television
Sorete-definition television is a television system that uses a resolution that is not considered to be either enhanced-definition television or high-definition television . The term is usually used in reference to digital television, in particular when broadcasting at the same resolution as...
channels.
Identity
When the channel launched in 1997, the idents used featured a star shape, usually inside a circle, with the UK Arena logo below. The logo, like that of all the UKTV channels until 2001, featured a single straight line logo with the UK prefix in a white box and the channel name typed in Gill SansGill Sans
Gill Sans is a sans-serif typeface designed by Eric Gill.The original design appeared in 1926 when Douglas Cleverdon opened a bookshop in his home town of Bristol, where Eric Gill painted the fascia over the window in sans-serif capitals that would later be known as Gill Sans...
above a line extending out from the box. When the channel changed to UK Drama in 2000, the idents remained the same, with a change of logo the only noticeable difference.
The next change occurred in 2001, when the logo design was dropped in favour of a new design. The new design resulted in the UK Drama logo standing alone at the bottom of the screen in a blod text, stylised to appear like UK Drama. On the end of the logo, a small design was included. One was assigned to each channel, with the exception of UK Gold and UK Gold 2, to identify what the channel broadcast. In the case of UK Drama, it was a bold, eight pointed star within a circle. The idents themselves were replaced by three men beating drums with water on the surface, so that water flew up whenever a man beat the drum. Each man was bathed in a particular colour light: red, blue and green.
Following the name rechange to UKTV Drama, the generic style was changed. The logo was now an uppercase 'DRAMA' below a UKTV logo, alligned to the left of the screen. The ident used in the background featured a giant glass appearing 'D', moving around in the background. the stations colour at the time was purple, and many of the channels promotions, on the channel and on the rest of the UKTV network featured this background colour.
Following the rebrand to Alibi, the channels idents featured the words associated with crime and murder arranged into different shapes, including the outline of a dead body, a gunshot shattering a pane of glass, the dials of a safe and the beam from a torch illuminating the words. These are accompanied by the alibi logo, seen with interchangeable colours of white, black and red.
Programming
The output of the channel is mainly drama series and serials from the BBCBBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
archive but also has ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
series and some exclusive shows from U.S. networks.
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External links
- Alibi
- http://www.facebook.com/ThePerfectAlibiAlibi on FacebookFacebookFacebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
] - http://twitter.com/#!/alibi_channelAlibi on TwitterTwitterTwitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
] - UKTV at The TV Room
- Alibi at TVARK