Chelsea TV was a British subscription based sports television channel, dedicated to the fans of the
English Premier League
The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
club,
Chelsea. The channel first launched in August 2001 on
Sky Digital. The station was registered with
Ofcom
The Office of Communications, commonly known as Ofcom, is the government-approved regulatory and competition authority for the broadcasting, internet, telecommunications and mail, postal industries of the United Kingdom.
Ofcom has wide-rang ...
as Chelsea Digital Media Ltd.
[
] It was broadcast daily from 10:00am to midnight. Until it was removed in early 2010, it used to be broadcast in Channel 427 on
UPC Ireland.
The channel closed on 30 June 2019, and was moved to an online only service.
Programming
Chelsea TV was broadcast live everyday from 10am to midnight from the studios at
Stamford Bridge.
Top shows included ''Friday Night Live'' which broadcast each Friday with former players
Kerry Dixon and
Jason Cundy. ''Friday Night Live'' allowed fans to call in and share their views on all things Chelsea. The show regularly had first team players join the phone-in, the 2009–10 season saw Didier Drogba, Frank Lampard, Mikel, Malouda and Kalou all answer the fans' questions.
Live build-up to midweek games was on ''Matchnight Live'' which broadcast from 6pm and had previews to the game, team news first and analysis. Every midweek game followed with a live fans' phone-in from 10pm. Chelsea TV was the only place to watch the
Chelsea Reserves and Academy Teams in action. ''Reserves Live'' had full coverage of every Reserve game some of which took place at
Griffin Park
Griffin Park was a association football, football ground in Brentford in the London Borough of Hounslow, England. It was the home ground of Brentford F.C. from its opening in September 1904 to August 2020. The ground was in a predominantly resi ...
in the
London Borough of Hounslow, the home ground of
Brentford
Brentford is a suburban town in West (London sub region), West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the River Thames, Thames, west of Charing Cross.
Its economy has dive ...
.
''Blues News'' was the daily news programme with headlines at 1pm and 5pm followed by a full news bulletin at 6.30 pm and 10 pm. ''Paper View'' was broadcast live from the studios every Thursday with the finest
Fleet Street
Fleet Street is a street in Central London, England. It runs west to east from Temple Bar, London, Temple Bar at the boundary of the City of London, Cities of London and City of Westminster, Westminster to Ludgate Circus at the site of the Lo ...
reporters discussing the news surrounding the club. ''Inside Cobham'' showed the week's training sessions and exclusive players interviews from the Chelsea's
training ground in
Cobham,
Surrey
Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...
. Exclusive interviews from the first team players and management was seen on ''The Big Interview''. Many new shows and series were shown throughout the year. In 2009 a new fans' post-match phone-in was introduced called "Extra time at the Bridge" this allowed fans' to share their views after every weekend home game by calling the studio or emailing Chelsea TV.
Presenters
The channel has various
presenters, including former players
Jason Cundy,
Tommy Langley,
Scott Minto and
Kerry Dixon. Regular hosts include
Gigi Salmon, Alison Bender, Ben Andrews, Lee Parker as well as Neil Barnett.
Chelsea matches are mainly commentated by Trevor Harris, Ben Andrews (who hosted the
2007 League Cup Final,
2007 FA Cup Final and
2008 UEFA Champions League Final), Mark Tompkins, Dan Roebuck and
Gary Taphouse. Cundy is often co-commentator and is highly enthusiastic when Chelsea score in big games.
[
]
Gigi Salmon currently presents many shows on the channel and has been a Chelsea TV station presenter since the channel was launched in August 2001. Some of the programmes she presents include ''Blues News'' and ''Matchnight Live'' and ''Paperview''.
[
] Neil Barnett has been presenting since the launch of the channel in August 2001. He began working for The Blues in the 1980s writing articles for the club's magazine.
Chelsea TV Online
On 1 July 2019, Chelsea TV Online launched as a new way to view Chelsea TV via a PC or Mac:
Chelsea TV Online is powered by the club's internet partner Perform, with content from the Sky channel, Chelsea TV and includes exclusive interviews, live press conferences, Bridge Kids and many behind the scenes features, exclusive to Chelsea TV.
References
External links
Official siteChelsea TV OnlineChelsea TV LiveChelsea TV listingsThe Guardian
{{Chelsea F.C.
Chelsea F.C.
Football club television channels in the United Kingdom
Television channels in the United Kingdom
2001 establishments in the United Kingdom
Television channels and stations established in 2001
Premier League on television