Performance Channel was an arts and entertainment

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication Media (communication), medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of Transmission (telecommunications), television tra ...

channel that broadcast 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 European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, on the Sky Digital platform. The Performance Channel launched as an evening cable-only service in 1992. The channel started broadcasting on Sky Digital in 2003 and its broadcast hours expanded. The channel was dropped from cable networks shortly afterwards.

Programming

The channel broadcast concerts, performances, master classes and star profiles from noted composers and musicians. Music featured included

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a majo ...

and

easy listening Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to 1970s. It is related to middle-of-the-road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit songs, ...

, as well as

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libre ...

and classical. The channel also featured dance performances as well as interviews with noted actors and performers. Performance Channel tended to offer more

high culture High culture is a subculture that emphasizes and encompasses the cultural objects of aesthetic value, which a society collectively esteem as exemplary art, and the intellectual works of philosophy, history, art, and literature that a society co ...

in its schedules, rather than its sister channel

Performance MainStreet Performance MainStreet (or Mainstreet as it appeared on the EPG) was an arts and entertainment television channel broadcast in the United Kingdom, on the Sky Digital platform. The channel was closed down on 10 September 2008 and it was replace ...

which concentrated more on rock and pop music programming.

History

Daily Mail & General Trust (DMGT) bought the Performance Channel in 1994 and sold it to Eicom in 2005. The Performance Channel was closed down at 6.00am on 1 July 2008 after nearly 25 years of broadcasting.Broadcasting – News – Performance Channel to end after 23 years – Digital Spy
/ref> As of 1 July 2008, some of the Performance Channel programmes had moved to its sister channel,

, until it closed down on 10 September 2008 and was replaced with

Rock On TV Rock On TV was an arts and entertainment television channel broadcast in the United Kingdom, on the Sky platform. The channel launched on 1 October 2008 and it replaced Performance MainStreet Performance MainStreet (or Mainstreet as it appeare ...

on 1 October 2008.

References

External links

Official site
(Now inactive) Television channels in the United Kingdom Defunct television channels in the United Kingdom 1985 establishments in the United Kingdom Television channels and stations established in 1985 Television channels and stations disestablished in 2008 1980s in British television 1990s in British television 2000s in British television History of television in the United Kingdom {{UK-tv-channel-stub