ITV Encore was a British drama

pay television Pay television, also known as subscription television, premium television or, when referring to an individual service, a premium channel, refers to subscription-based television services, usually provided by multichannel television providers, b ...

channel in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

that was owned by ITV Digital Channels Ltd, a division of

ITV plc ITV plc is a British media company that holds 13 of the 15 regional television licences that make up the ITV network (Channel 3), the oldest and largest commercial terrestrial television network in the United Kingdom. ITV plc is listed on th ...

. The channel was exclusive to Sky's digital satellite platform, Sky Go, Now TV, and Sky Store. The channel closed on 1 May 2018, becoming an on-demand only service available on other platforms as well as Sky.

History

Launch

ITV Encore launched at 7pm on 9 June 2014. The first programme to be shown on the channel was an episode of ''

Agatha Christie's Poirot ''Poirot'' (also known as ''Agatha Christie's Poirot'') is a British mystery drama television programme that aired on ITV from 8 January 1989 to 13 November 2013. David Suchet starred as the eponymous detective, Agatha Christie's fictional Her ...

'' which was also the final programme. The channel was ITV's first new channel launch in over eight years, and formed part of a wider four-year

partnership A partnership is an arrangement where parties, known as business partners, agree to cooperate to advance their mutual interests. The partners in a partnership may be individuals, businesses, interest-based organizations, schools, governments ...

with Sky - ITV's largest ever with a platform operator. It was also the first ITV-branded subscription channel since

ITV Sport Channel ITV Sport Channel was a short-lived digital sport television channel, that was owned by Carlton Communications and Granada plc. It was launched on 11 August 2001 and closed on 12 May 2002, precipitating ITV Digital's collapse over a month late ...

closed down in 2002.

ITV Encore +1

A one-hour timeshifted mirror of ITV Encore launched alongside the parent channel, broadcast on Sky channel 193 (a channel slot ITV had acquired from the Information TV group). ITV Encore +1 temporarily closed on 1 October 2014 (ITV3 +1 took its old slot), to make space for ITVBe, which launched on channel 179. ITV Encore +1 was re-added to the channel lineup on 15 December 2014 on channel 208, the same day ITVBe +1 was added to the Sky and Freesat platforms. It moved to channel 268 on 1 August 2017, a slot previously taken by ITV4 HD, as part of a reshuffling which included ITVBe moving to channel 149, a slot they had acquired from AMC Networks International Zone.

ITV Encore HD

A high-definition service also launched on Sky channel 298, on the same day as ITV Encore. It broadcasts ITV dramas in high-definition. ITV Encore HD moved to Sky channel 263 on 19 August 2014, following more spaces in the Entertainment genre to be added, and the Lifestyle genre being shortened. On 15 December 2014, it moved again to Sky channel 269, to make space for ITVBe +1 and ITV Encore +1 (as ITV3 HD took its old place). It moved back to channel 263 on 1 August 2017, with

CBS Drama RealityXtra (formerly CBS Drama) is a British free-to-air television channel that centres its programming on American television shows produced by CBS. It is the sister channel of CBS Reality and is owned in partnership by AMC Networks and Para ...

taking its old place.

Closure

It was confirmed by an ITV spokesperson in November 2017 that the linear television service ITV Encore would close in Spring 2018. ITV Encore closed at midnight on 1 May 2018 as part of Sky's major EPG reshuffle. The last programme shown on the channel was ''

'' The Plymouth Express. Its Sky EPG slot was taken by Sky Two.

Former Programming

ITV Encore broadcast some of ITV's most successful drama series of recent years. Since January 2015, ITV Encore also showed original drama, commissioned for the channel. This move was to attract new viewers to the channel, and to the Sky TV platform.

First-run

*''

Jordskott ''Jordskott'' (, "soil shoot") is a Swedish TV thriller, crime drama series. Police detective Eva Thörnblad ( Moa Gammel) investigates the disappearance of her daughter and other mysteries in her hometown of Silverhöjd. The title refers to ''j ...

'' (2015–2018) *''

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'' (2015–2018; shown on ITV from 2013–2014) *'' Ängelby'' (2016–2018)

Original commissions

*''

The Frankenstein Chronicles ''The Frankenstein Chronicles'' is a British television period crime drama series that first aired on ITV Encore on 11 November 2015, designed as a re-imagining of Mary Shelley's 1818 novel ''Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus''. Lead acto ...

'' (2015–2018) *'' Harlots'' (2017–2018) *'' Houdini & Doyle'' (2016)

Other shows

* Always And Everyone *''

'' *''

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'' *'' Heartbeat'' *''

Peak Practice ''Peak Practice'' is a British drama series about a GP surgery in Cardale—a small fictional town in the Derbyshire Peak District—and the doctors who worked there. It ran on ITV from 10 May 1993 to 30 January 2002 and was one of their m ...

'' * The Chief *''

The Ruth Rendell Mysteries ''The Ruth Rendell Mysteries'' is a British television crime drama series, produced by TVS and later by its successor Meridian Broadcasting, in association with Blue Heaven Productions, for broadcast on the ITV network. Twelve series were bro ...

'' *''

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References

{{Media in the United Kingdom, television ITV television channels Defunct British television channels Television channels and stations established in 2014 Television channels and stations disestablished in 2018 Television channels in the United Kingdom 2014 establishments in the United Kingdom 2018 disestablishments in the United Kingdom