Carlton Select
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| Carlton Select | |
 |
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|---|---|
| Launched | 1997 |
| Closed | 2000 |
| Owned by | Carlton Television |
| Audience share | N/A (Channel, Source:Closed) |
| Website | www.carltonselect.co.uk (no longer active) |
Carlton Select was the oldest Carlton channel carried on cable and ONdigital channel 35, and was the only one that also broadcasted in Africa [1]. It timeshared with Carlton Food Network, and was the sister channel to Carlton Cinema, Carlton Food Network, Carlton Kids and Carlton World All of the Carlton-branded channels were closed by 2003.
This channel was the result of a purchase by Pearson Television of production company SelecTV for the value of £5.2m in 1996. SelecTV ran a cable-only channel of the same name whose routes stretch as far back as the mid-80s. SelecTV ceased broadcasting the day before Carlton Select launched.
Carlton Select branded themselves as "The UK's Leading Entertainment Cable Channel", and had programmes such as Goodnight Sweetheart, Birds of a Feather, Blockbuster, Soldier Soldier and Robin of Sherwood. Together with quiz shows, films and comedies, the channel brought viewers a wide-ranging choice of high quality programming.
It broadcast on weekdays 5pm to 1am (GMT), and at weekends from 5pm to 2am (GMT), and the other hours were devoted to Carlton Food Network.
[edit] Closure
The channel was closed in 2000 for the newly rebranded Taste CFN (Carlton Food Network) to broadcast 24 hours. However, Taste CFN ceased broadcasting in late 2001, and was not replaced. The last Carlton channel (Carlton Cinema) ceased broadcasting in 2003.
The main reason for its closure was poor viewing figures. The channel had poorly thought out marketing and as a result was pulled, not before millions of pounds had been spent trying to rescue it from disaster. This follows other ITV-involved disasters such as Sky Scottish, which went the same way. Other ITV channels which were unsuccessful include UTV2, S2, Granada Plus, Granada Breeze, Granada Talk TV, ITV News Channel and other joint-venture channels such as Shop! and Wellbeing.
Carlton Television has since merged with Granada Television and has formed ITV plc. Programming from Carlton Select has been absobed into ITV plc's Digital Channels, and BBC programmes such as Goodnight Sweetheart can now be found on UKTV Gold.
