ESPN Classic (UK)
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| ESPN Classic | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Launched | March 14, 2006 |
| Owned by | ESPN Inc. (The Walt Disney Company) |
| Audience share | Small but not zero (April 2008, [1]) |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sister channel(s) | NASN, Disney Channel, Playhouse Disney, Disney Cinemagic |
| Availability | |
| Satellite | |
| Sky Digital | Channel 442 |
The British version of ESPN Classic launched on March 14, 2006 [2] on Sky Digital Channel 442, the first channel in the UK under the ESPN branding. It broadcasts a range of archive sports coverage, with an emphasis on football, including 1970s and 1980s editions of Match of the Day (though these are shown without the opening and closing titles and branded "The Dead Good Match", and are sometimes truncated, with only one of the matches covered in a particular programme being shown). The channel is currently only available on the satellite network Sky Digital and hope to expand onto Virgin Media cable network from March 2008.
[edit] Programming
The channel also transmits some archive ITV football coverage, FA Cup, European Cup, European Cup Winners Cup and League Cup finals, matches from the Premiership, and some England games.
Though most coverage on the channel is from the colour era, it has shown original black and white footage of European Cup finals going back as far as 1959. Most football matches on the channel have the original UK commentary, from the likes of John Motson, Barry Davies, Brian Moore and, for earlier games, David Coleman or Kenneth Wolstenholme, but Premiership games from the 1990s tend to feature commentary dubbed on more recently by Jon Champion, or commentary by Sky Sports broadcasters such as Martin Tyler and Alan Parry which seems to be from the international feed of the time. Some 1960s European Cup finals have also had a new commentary dubbed on by Tony Jones.
The channel also shows rugby union international matches from the 1970s to the 2000s, some archive cricket coverage, a wrestling programme introduced by Sid Waddell, vintage boxing matches, and some skateboarding programmes, often featuring Tony Hawk.
