Viacom is to launch male-skewing
US channel Spike TV, home to shows such as Bar Rescue, on Freeview.
The
broadcaster, which acquired Channel 5 for £450m in May, will replace
entertainment channel Viva with Spike TV in the first quarter of 2015, although
its channel slot is yet to be decided. Viva will continue to air on pay-TV
platforms Sky and Virgin Media.
Spike TV will carry a raft of US factual
formats including Eyeworks USA-produced Bar Rescue, which currently
airs on 5*, as well as repeats of Channel 5 factual series such as Cowboy
Builders and Police Interceptors.
The channel will be overseen by C5
which has kicked off a hunt for a channel manager to report to director of
programmes Ben Frow.
Viacom is also hoping to secure distribution on
Virgin Media and Freesat for Spike TV and plans to use the UK launch as a
stepping stone to further international launches.
The only blog for all things Virgin Media UK. With listings for: Virgin Media UK's TiVo, V6, TV360 and Flex boxes. Also we carry news from Netflix UK & broadcasters from UK.
Media Boy UK Blog Extra Pages
- Virgin Media UK's V6 & TV360 listings:
- Virgin Media UK's Flex listings:
- Channels that Virgin Media UK may get when existing deals with the owners are renew:
- Channels that Virgin Media UK has move over to MPEG4 (Updated July 2020):
- Channels only on Smallworld Cable & Virgin Media Ireland areas:
- MEDIA BOY UK HQ COPY RIGHT (January 2025)