Sky One

Credits

Descriptions by
AUnnamedDragon and others

Captures by
Camenati and others

Editions by
AUnnamedDragon and others

Video captures courtesy of
Wyraachur, King Of TV Set, BXFTYS and rt316

Background

British Sky Broadcasting (BSkyB) was formed by the merger of Sky Television and British Satellite Broadcasting on 2 November 1990. Both companies had begun to struggle financially and were suffering financial losses as they competed against each other for viewers. The Guardian later characterised the merger as "effectively a takeover by News Corporation".

In early 2007, Freeview overtook Sky Digital with nearly 200,000 more subscribers at the end of 2006, while cable broadcaster Virgin Media had three million customers. In July 2007, BSkyB announced the takeover of Amstrad for £125 million, a 23.7% premium on its market capitalisation. BSkyB and Virgin Media announced that they had reached agreement for the acquisition of Virgin Media Television by BSkyB. Virgin1 was also a part of the deal and was rebranded as Channel One on 3 September 2010, as the Virgin name was not licensed to Sky. The new carriage deals were understood to be for up to nine years. The deal was completed in July 2011 and Virgin Media Television was renamed Living TV Group.

In June 2010, News Corporation made a bid for complete ownership of BSkyB. However, following the News International phone hacking scandal, critics and politicians began to question the appropriateness of the proposed takeover. The resulting reaction forced News Corp. to withdraw its bid for the company in July 2011. The scandal forced the resignation of James Murdoch, who was the chairman of both BSkyB and News International, from his executive positions in the UK, with Nicholas Ferguson taking over as Chairman of BSkyB.

In September 2012, Ofcom ruled that BSkyB was still fit to hold broadcast licenses in the UK, but criticised James Murdoch's handling of the scandal. On 28 June 2013, News Corporation was split into two publicly-traded companies; the company's publishing operations (including News International, renamed News UK) and broadcasting operations in Australia were spun into a new company known as News Corp, while the company's broadcast media assets, including its 39.14% stake in Sky, were renamed 21st Century Fox.

On 12 May 2014, BSkyB confirmed that it was in talks with its largest shareholder, 21st Century Fox, about acquiring 21st Century Fox's 57.4% stake in Sky Deutschland and its 100% stake in Sky Italia. The enlarged company (dubbed "Sky Europe" in the media) will consolidate 21st Century Fox's European digital TV assets into one company. The £4.9 billion takeover deal was formally announced on 25 July, where BSkyB would acquire 21st Century Fox's stakes in Sky Deutschland and Sky Italia. BSkyB also made a required takeover offer to Sky Deutschland's minority shareholders, resulting in BSkyB acquiring 89.71% of Sky Deutschland's share capital. The acquisitions were completed on 13 November.

British Sky Broadcasting Group plc changed its name to Sky plc to reflect the European acquisitions, and the United Kingdom operations were renamed Sky UK Limited. Sky plc bought out the remaining minority shareholders in Sky Deutschland during 2015, using a squeeze-out procedure to obtain the remaining shares and delist Sky Deutschland on 15 September 2015.

The Walt Disney Company announced on 14 December 2017, that it would acquire 21st Century Fox, including its stake in Sky plc but barring specific US assets. Fox stated that this purchase would "not alter [its] full commitment and obligation to conclude our proposed transaction". Analysts suggested that Disney's proposed transaction could ease regulatory concerns over Fox's purchase of Sky, as the company will eventually lose its ties to the Murdoch family. Disney has a narrower scope of media ownership in the country than the Murdoch family. Sky already has a relationship with Disney for its Sky Cinema service, holding pay television rights to its films in the United Kingdom and operating a dedicated Sky Cinema channel devoted to Disney content.

On 12 October 2018, Comcast announced it will compulsorily acquire the rest of Sky after its bid gained acceptances from 95.3% of the broadcaster's shareholders. Sky was delisted on 7 November 2018 after Comcast acquired all remaining shares.

On 28 July 2021, it was announced that the Sky One channel would cease broadcasting by 1 September, and be replaced with Sky Showcase, a new channel intended to showcase content from across Sky's other channels. Many of Sky One's existing general entertainment and original productions would move to another new channel called Sky Max.

1st ID (1984-1989)

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ID: Against a cloudy background, or a space background, the text "SKY" in a 3D, chrome stylized font, flips toward the screen, stops and shines. The text "EUROPE's NUMBER #1" wipes in. Sometimes, we pan through the SKY logo and it zooms out. "CHANNEL" fades in.

Technique: Appears to be CGI.

Music/Sounds: A majestic fanfare, with an announcer saying "This is Sky, Europe's number 1." On the space variant, a synth guitar theme plays, then after the announcer says "This is SKY.", a choir sings "Europe's number 1."

2nd ID (February 1989-1991)

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ID: We start with an extreme close up of the SKY logo, panning through the letters. Then we zoom out, and a gold line writes in the word "channel". In some cases, the word "TELEVISION" zooms out.

Variant: Several divisions of Sky adapted this ID for their own use. Examples are Sky News and Sky Movies.

Technique: CGI done by Pacific Data Images on an SGI 4D/25.

Music/Sounds: Same as the BSB ID. On the "TELEVISION" variant, a single synth theme (also composed by Frank Gari) was used.

3rd ID (May 1989-1993)

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ID: On a black background, we see the SKY logo rotating into place, with what looks like glass swirls spinning counterclockwise around it. When it stops, tilted at an angle, a gold line writes out the word "Channel" (or "One", as of 1989). The letters "glow".

Trivia: On 30 July 1989, Sky Channel became "Sky One", the name was used until 1996 and again from 1997 to 2008.

Variant: In 1990, the script "One" was replaced by a sans-serif "ONE" which descends into the logo, accompanied by a thinner neon light version of it.

Technique: CGI. This was designed and animated by Pacific Data Images.

Music/Sounds: Same as the 2nd logo.

4th ID (1993-1995)

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ID: On a blue background with the words "SKY ONE" swirling around, we see a bunch of streaks fly in and form the SKY "ring", and 3 glass copies of the SKY logo, at an angle, forming one SKY logo. It turns to rotate us, and tilts back a little bit. The letters "O", "N", and "E", encased in silver "boxes", fly in, and turn blue, yellow, and red, respectively. The whole thing shines.

Variants: Sky used many variants, depending on the channel and their topic (e.g: Sports, Sports 2, News, Movies, Movie Channel, Movies Gold, Travel, Soap).

Technique: CGI. This was done by Novocom/GRFX.

Music/Sounds: A mellow tune composed by Frank Gari, this time using Korg M1 and E-MU Proteus series synthesizers. An announcer says "From the Sky Satellite Network, this is Sky One." Each of the Sky channels had the announcer say the same thing, but changed to refer to the specific channel, and a jingle which incorporated the musical logo from the main jingle (a recurring set of six notes); for example, Sky News's version combined it with Gari's "Great News" (used by the channel from 1989-1993), and Sky Soap had a version that sounded like the theme song to General Hospital.

5th ID (1995-1996)

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ID: On a swirling background which flashes, the SKY logo, in a long rectangle, rotates to face the screen while zooming out. Yellow "curtains" part, presenting the word "one", in a bold, italic font.

Variants: Again, Sky used many variants, depending on the channel and their topic (e.g: Sports, Sports 2, Movies, Movie Channel, Movies Gold, Soap, News, Travel)

Technique: CGI done by Novocom.

Music/Sounds: A soothing tune, followed by a majestic 7 note horn fanfare. Also customized, depending on the channel. An announcer says, "This is Sky (One, Soap, Travel, News, Sports, Movies), part of the Sky Satellite Network."

6th ID (1996-1997)

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ID: We see the SKY logo from before, from an upper-right angle. It rotates to face us with a flash, and the number "1" (or the number "2") fades in. Four comets streak behind the logo and the background swirls and twirls wildly. Sometimes, the rectangle that the logo is in is horizontal instead of vertical.

Variants:

• During Christmas 1996, each of the Sky channels shared a universal look, which featured the logo, coming out of a TV, then out of a house with a family playing in the snow and then becomes a snow globe saying "Merry Christmas from Sky 1996" with Sky's "Egg" logo used at the time, with a candle lighting it up. Each channel featured a different variant:
  • Sky 1 and Sky 2: Homer Simpson appears with the family, seeming to be covered in snow by the daughter.
  • Sky Movies/The Movie Channel/Sky Movies Gold: The daughter holds a movie clapperboard.
  • Sky Sports 1, 2 and 3: The Family are playing football.
  • Sky Soap/Travel/News: The Family are dancing/celebrating.
• Other variants that depend on the specific channel also existed.

Technique: CGI by Novocom.

Music/Sounds: A jazzy tune. Also customized, depending on the channel. An announcer says, "This is Sky (One, Soap, Travel, News, Sports 1, Sports 2, Sports 3, Scottish, Movies)." The Movies variant uses samples from Peter Siedlaczek's Orchestral Colors.

7th ID (1997-1998)

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ID: We see a live-action clip playing on a white background. On the top of the screen, the then-new Sky logo ("SKY" inside a yellow slanted oval with a silver outline) appears, and at the bottom of the screen, "one" appears.

Variants: Once again, there were many variants used by Sky, depending on the channel.

Technique: Live-action and/or CGI.

Music/Sounds: Sounds and/or music that change depending on the ID.

Availability: The Sky Box Office 1 ID appears at the beginning of a VHS of a 1998 WWE One Night Only PPV that was held in the UK.

8th ID (1998-6 January 2002)

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ID: We see a live-action scene that leads to the then-new Sky One logo ("SKY one" in a outline of a square, with part of the outline cut by the words) appearing.

Technique: Live-action.

Music/Sounds: Sounds and/or music that change depending on the ID.

9th ID (7 January 2002-20 September 2004)

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ID: We see an activity that leads to the then-new Sky One logo (which is "SKY|ONE" with "SKY" being presented as a outlne) appearing. The whole ID uses red or red-orange for its colour scheme.

Technique: Live-action and/or CGI.

Music/Sounds: Sounds that match the specific ID's actions.

10th ID (2004)

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ID: The Sky logo appears over a cloudy sky. As a Sky One ident, the Sky One logo from before appears over either a pool of water or a ocean.

Technique: Appears to be CGI.

Music/Sounds: Some music plays throughout.

11th ID (21 September 2004-14 February 2008)

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ID: We see something forming on a coloured background, eventually leading to the specific channel's logo appearing.

• Sky One uses a city and a purple background.
• Sky Two uses what appears to be a carnival and a dark green background.
• The then-newly launched Sky Three uses the same carnival as Sky Two, but on a blue-gray background.

Technique: CGI.

Music/Sounds: Some music plays throughout, typically with a announcer spiel.

12th ID (15 February-31 August 2008)

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ID: Glass half-semicircles and a glass circle appear and rotate as the specific channel's logo appears, all over a background the same colour as the half-semicircles and circle. The colour depends on the channel: Sky One uses blue, Sky Two uses green and Sky Three uses pink.

Technique: CGI.

Music/Sounds: Some music plays throughout, typically with a announcer talking over it.

13th ID (31 August 2008-1 February 2011)

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ID: There are 6 (and maybe more) different idents in use here. Each channel uses a different theme for its logo: Sky 1 has blue crystals, Sky 2 has green slime and Sky 3 has pink sparkles. Aside from 3 basic versions, there is a Lost-themed ident and a Bones-themed ident, as well as one which was made for Christmas 2008.

Variants: Here are the idents:

• Boxes: In a city landscape, we see a cardboard box opening up to release a geyser of blue crystals, which fall into another cardboard box nearby. Eventually, some of the crystals knock over the box and create a blue "1". Variants exist for Sky 2 (with green slime forming a green "2") and Sky 3 (with pink sparkles forming a pink "3").
• Twister: In a rural town, a tornado ("twister") emerges and wrecks havoc as a sign of a nearby diner falls apart. Soon, a car flies forward and the camera pans to the large "1", which soon cracks open to form the blue crystals once the car hits it. Variants exist for Sky 2 and Sky 3
• Wack-a-Mole: On an amusement pier (Brighton Palace Pier), we pass through the rides and head towards an orange "Wack-a-Mole" machine, where attendees are hitting the spots featuring blue "1"'s, which smash into the blue crystals. Variants exist for Sky 2 and Sky 3.
• Bones: Unknown
• Christmas: We begin on a carousel ride as it spins, revealing the setting to be a Christmas Fair. We see the "1" near it; it soon breaks apart and reforms into a large blue Christmas Tree, with a "1" on top. Variants exist for Sky 2 and Sky 3.
• Lost: A set of doors open, revealing Sayid Jarrah (Naveen Andrews) from the show, eyeing over the "1", which breaks itself apart with the crystals surrounding him as it causes Sayid to float in the air. Variants exist for Sky 2 and Sky 3.
• The Simpsons: Introduced in 2010 to memorate the 20th anniversary of the series, this ident is in the disguise of an Itchy and Scratchy cartoon called "Slaughter is the Best Medicine". We see Itchy tormenting Scratchy through various ways until he ends up on a stretcher. Scratchy uses a laser to form a "1" on the stretcher and eventually another laser to destroy the "1", which in the process cuts up Scratchy into his torso parts. A Sky 2 variant exists which is rarely used, but a Sky 3 variant doesn't.

Technique: Usually a combo of live-action and CGI.

Music/Sounds: Each ID has its own unique jingle and/or sounds corresponding to the actions onscreen.

14th ID (1 February 2011-8 July 2016)

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ID: Over live action footage, a CGI 1, 2 or 3 is featured. The channel logo fades in towards the end.

Variants: In later years, Sky 1 started to use their own unique variants instead of the standard ones, promoting shows like Arrow, The Muppets, Stella and You, and Me and the Apocalypse, to name a few.

• • For instance, in the Muppets variant, Miss Piggy walks into view as the logo appears, covering her face. A annoyed Miss Piggy walks offscreen and reappears a moment later, this time standing directly in front of the logo.
  • The Arrow variant has the titular hero shoot the logo with an arrow, shattering it into many pieces before reforming a few seconds later.

Technique: A combo of live-action and CGI.

Music/Sounds: As with the previous ident, all of them feature their own unique jingle and/or sounds.

Availability: The idents might be preserved on sites like TV-Ark.

15th ID (19 April 2016-8 October 2017)

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ID: A blue "1" appears on a white background. The "1" spins and forms a tornado of multicoloured crystal gems. Eventually, the camera zooms in as the "1" stops spinning and the tornado disappears, leaving many gems on the ground.

Technique: CGI.

Music/Sounds: Sounds corresponding to the actions onscreen over some music.

16th ID (9 October 2017-1 September 2021)

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ID: We see the final Sky One logo (a white rectangle with a blue Sky logo and a blue rectangle with "one" on it) on a blue background.

Technique: None.

Music/Sounds: An announcer spiel over some music.

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Sky One