The Sports Channel

Background

The Sports Channel was originally launched by British Satellite Broadcasting in March 1990, alongside BSB's other networks (Galaxy, The Movie Channel, The Power Station and Now. During the channel's downtime in the mornings, The Computer Channel operated in it's place.

Following the merger of BSB and Sky Television to form BSkyB, The Sports Channel remained, and on 20 April 1991, the network was rebranded Sky Sports as it launched on the Astra 1B satellite.

Logo (27 March 1990-19 April 1991)

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Visuals: On a blue background, we see a shadow of BSB's squarial logo. Various effects and transitions occur within split seconds until it creates the channel's own Squarial icon, consisting of a split yellow/red diamond with a blue rectangle in the middle, containing a large "S". As the text "THE SPORTS CHANNEL" and the BSB logo appear, the shadow squarial does one last effect before disappearing.

Later Variant: Beginning on 2 November 1990, after the merger of BSB and Sky, the text on the bottom of the logo was replaced with "BRITISH SKY BROADCASTING" to reflect the new owners.

Technique: 2D animation from Lambie-Nairn.

Audio: Starts with some drum sounds and ends with a slow, long fanfare based on the BSB theme. Beginning on 2 November 1990, an announcer says "You're watching The Sports Channel, part of the British Sky Broadcasting network."