Trouble (TV channel)

Trouble

Trouble logo
Launched 3 February 1997
Closed 1 April 2009
Owned by Virgin Media Television
Sky plc
Picture format 16:9, 576i (SDTV)
Website www.trouble.co.uk
Availability
(at time of closure)
Satellite
Sky Digital Channel 172
Cable
Virgin Media Channel 159
UPC Ireland Channel 622 (ex-Chorus only)

Trouble was a television station in Ireland and the UK, owned by Virgin Media Television. It fully replaced The Children's Channel from 4 April 1998, prior to the start of Sky Digital.

Trouble had a key demographic of young adults and teenagers, aged between 13 and 39. The channel showed primarily American and Australian imports, with only a small margin of programmes being British. A website was launched called Trouble Homegrown that showcased British programmes.

Trouble's one hour timeshift channel named Trouble +1 (formerly Trouble Reload) closed on 5 February 2009 to make way for the launch of Living2 +1.[1]

History

The idea of Trouble was originally influenced by the now-defunct The Children's Channel's late afternoon scheduling for teen audiences, branded "TCC". When Bravo was revamped in 1997 to become a channel targeting a male audience (marketed as "an altered species of television"), it broadcast only during the evenings and nights, with Trouble occupying its transponder space during the day. The Children's Channel ceased operations in 1998, leaving Trouble to target teens and young adults. Its schedule consisted of popular sitcoms, rather than the cartoons The Children's Channel originally aired.

Programmes

Closure

By 2003, Trouble had shifted its output from teen shows in its early days to family-oriented sitcoms such as My Wife and Kids, One On One, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, That '70s Show and Grounded for Life.

After The WB merged with UPN in 2006, their main sources of programming dried up, causing the channel ratings to decline. Trouble added new programmes including first run episodes of How I Met Your Mother and Kyle XY and classic comedies including The Cosby Show and Desmond’s but failed to address the decline of Virgin/Bravo team group.

On 17 March 2009, Virgin Media Television indicated it would close Trouble and replace it with a version of Living.[2] The closure was blamed on declining viewing figures and that it was part of an operational review at Virgin Media Television (which included budget cuts at Challenge TV), which saw them being sold to BSkyB, Bravo and Virgin 1 (by then renamed Channel One), closed later after the Virgin sale.

It was then revealed that Trouble would close in April 2009 and would be replaced by Living +2 (since replaced by Living Loves). Trouble aired the voice over announcing about the last night before it ceased broadcasting on 1 April 2009 at 1.00am with the two-hour timeshift version of Living launching at 7am on the same day.

References

  1. ↑ "Trouble timeshift axed for more Living2". Digital Spy. 2009-02-03.
  2. ↑ Virgin Media to axe Trouble channel

External links

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