| National Geographic Channel UK, Iceland & Ireland | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Launched | September, 1997 |
| Owned by | National Geographic Society Fox International Channels (News Corporation) |
| Picture format | 576i (SDTV) 1080i (HDTV) |
| Audience share | 0.1% (0.1% for +1) (February 2009, BARB) |
| Broadcast area | UK Iceland Republic of Ireland |
| Sister channel(s) | National Geographic Wild National Geographic Music |
| Website | natgeochannel.co.uk natgeochannel.ie |
| Availability | |
| Terrestrial | |
| Top Up TV | Via Top Up TV Anytime |
| Satellite | |
| Sky Digital | Channel 526 Channel 527 (+1) |
| Sky+ HD | Channel 543 |
| Cable | |
| Virgin Media | Channel 230 Channel 231 (+1) Channel 232 (HD) TV Choice On Demand |
| UPC Ireland | Channel 215 |
| IPTV | |
| Tiscali TV | Channel 112 |
The National Geographic Channel is a television channel that features documentaries produced by the National Geographic Society. It features some programming similar to that on the Discovery Channel such as nature and science documentaries. The channel was launched in Europe in September 1997 and time shared initially with the failing NBC Europe until NBC Europe's demise in 1998. It was later launched worldwide including in Asia and the United States. Today, the channel is available in over 143 countries, seen in more than 160 million homes and in 25 languages.
It is owned by a company called the "NGC-UK Partnership", which initially was jointly owned by the National Geographic Society and British Sky Broadcasting (BSkyB), but in 2006, Sky's parent company News Corporation purchased 25 percent of the stake in the partnership, followed by the acquisition of BSkyB's remaining 50 percent stake by its sister company, the Fox Entertainment Group.
This includes an English language version for the UK, Iceland and Ireland. It also includes Dutch, Italian, Norwegian and Turkish speaking channels among others. The channel's musical signature is the Elmer Bernstein composed theme that has also appeared on the National Geographic broadcast-TV specials.
Contents |
Company
The channel is owned by the NGC-UK Partnership, which was formed in 1997 as a joint venture between National Geographic Television & Film, a division of the National Geographic Society and British Sky Broadcasting through its Sky Ventures division. The NGS provides programming expertise, while BSkyB provides its expertise on distribution, marketing, commercial and advertising sales. The partnership builds and operates National Geographic channels and services across Europe. It is headquartered in London. In December 2006, News Corporation purchased 25 percent of the Society's stake in the company. This meant that BSkyB owned half company, while the National Geographic Society and News Corp held 25 percent share each.[1] In December 2007, BSkyB sold its stake in the partnership to the Fox Entertainment Group,[2][3] through its Fox International Channels subsidiary.
National Geographic Channel HD
National Geographic Channel HD available in the UK and the Republic of Ireland, is available on Sky Digital, on which it launched in February 2006, it is available on EPG channel 543. The channel also joined Virgin Media's digital cable TV lineup on channel 232 on 30 July 2009.[4]. It is available on UPC Ireland's HD service[5]. The HD version available in the UK and Ireland is not a simulcast and has a separate schedule to the Standard Definition version of the National Geographic Channel. Some of the content is shown from Rush HD.
Programmes
- Air Crash Investigation
- Be The Creature
- Big Bang
- Built for the Kill
- End Day
- Escape Tech
- Explorations Powered by Duracell
- Explorer
- Gospel of Judas
- Hollywood Science
- Hunter Hunted
- Interpol Investigates
- Is It Real?
- Living Wild
- Megacities
- Megafactories
- MegaStructures
- Mysteries of the Deep
- Naked Science
- No Borders
- Planet Football
- Planet Mechanics
- Predators at War
- Rough Trades
- Science of the Bible
- Seconds From Disaster
- Storm Stories
- Strange Days on Planet Earth
- Taboo
- The Dog Whisperer
- The Living Edens
- Thrill Zone
- Thunder Beasts
- Totally Wild
- Trading Faces
- What Would Happen If...?
- World of Wildlife
Continuity / Voiceovers
Rob Jarvis, who is well known as Eddie in Hustle (TV series) is one of the two main male promo voices for this channel, along with Adam Longworth from XFM radio station.
See also
- National Geographic Channel
- National Geographic Channel Australia & New Zealand
- List of National Geographic Channel programs
- National Geographic Society
References
- ^ News Corp · 10-Q · For 12/31/06
- ^ British Sky Broadcasting Group PLC · 6-K · For 2/6/08
- ^ Press Release - British Sky Broad. - Interim Results, RNS Number:3830N, British Sky Broadcasting Group PLC, 06 February 2008
- ^ "Virgin Media and Channel 4 bring 4HD to millions of TV screens". 2009-07-29. http://pressoffice.virginmedia.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=205406&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1313698&highlight=.
- ^ http://www.upc.ie/television/digitalplushd/
External links
- Official site
- Official site Ireland (previously active)
- National Geographic Channels International
- National Geographic - UK TV Listings and Schedules
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