Quest Red is a British free-to-air
television channel in the United Kingdom broadcasting factual, lifestyle, crime and reality programming aimed at a female audience. The channel is operated by
Warner Bros. Discovery and runs as a sibling to Discovery's established Freeview channel
Quest, launched in 2009.
History
In mid-February 2017, shortly after the completion of an eleventh-hour carriage deal with
Sky
The sky is an unobstructed view upward from the planetary surface, surface of the Earth. It includes the atmosphere of Earth, atmosphere and outer space. It may also be considered a place between the ground and outer space, thus distinct from ...
to retain a presence on the satellite platform for its current and future channels, Discovery Communications head David Zaslav told a corporate conference call that a second Freeview channel, to sit alongside Quest, would launch during 2017.
The following day, more details of the channel were confirmed, including its name and branding (which will include a red version of the Quest 'Q' channel symbol), content (some of which will be shared with sibling channels such as
ID and
TLC
TLC may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Television
* ''TLC'' (TV series), a 2002 British situational comedy television series that aired on BBC2
* TLC (TV network), formerly the Learning Channel, an American cable TV network
** TLC (Asia), an A ...
), and launch date of 15 March.
The station will be available as a free-to-air channel on the Freeview platform (and, by extension, to users of the BT and TalkTalk's
YouView
YouView TV Ltd is a British media company, a partnership of four broadcasters: the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and 5; and two telecommunications operators, BT Group and TalkTalk Group (formerly also Arqiva). It launched in 2012 the hybrid television ...
platforms), and on the subscription satellite and cable platforms operated by Sky and
Virgin Media
Virgin Media Limited is a British telecommunications company which provides telephone, television and internet services in the United Kingdom. Its headquarters are at Green Park in Reading, England. It is owned by Virgin Media O2, a 50:50 ...
in the UK and the Republic of Ireland.
At launch, the channel was, like Quest, encrypted on satellite and thus not available on Freesat. Quest and Quest Red removed their encryption and began broadcasting free-to-air over satellite in June 2017, and were added to the Freesat guide early in July.
A full one-hour timeshifted variant of Quest Red was launched on the Sky platform in tandem with the launch of the principal channel. From 14 June 2017, Quest Red +1 was made available to Freeview users for three hours a day in the early morning, taking over the capacity vacated by the earlier relocation of Quest +1 to a different, longer slot. On 28 November 2017, Quest Red +1 launched on Freesat.
Unlike Sky & Freesat, Quest Red +1 is not on Virgin Media. It used to be available on Freeview until November 2022, when it was removed to make way for Quest moving to the COM6 multiplex.
At launch, Quest Red wasn't available to
Sky Ireland and Northern Ireland viewers due to a carriage agreement with
RTÉ
(; ; RTÉThe É in RTÉ is pronounced as an English E () and not an Irish É ()) is an Irish public service broadcaster. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on television, radio and online. The radio service began on 1 January 1926, ...
that allowed
RTÉ One and
RTÉ2 to be available on the EPG in Northern Ireland and also that the channel was channel 162 in the British guide. As part of Sky's major EPG reshuffle on 1 May 2018, Quest Red (and +1) became available to both Ireland and Northern Ireland customers, in addition to moving to 149 for Great Britain customers, a slot they acquired from
ITV Digital Channels
ITV Digital Channels Limited (formerly known as Granada Sky Broadcasting) is a subsidiary, wholly owned subsidiary of British broadcaster ITV plc.
It was set up in 1996 and operated until 2004 as a joint venture between Granada plc and Sky U ...
, who previously had
ITVBe
ITVBe was a British free-to-air television channel owned by ITV Digital Channels, a division of ITV plc. Launched on 8 October 2014, the channel was positioned as a spin-off of ITV2 targeting a female audience, focusing primarily upon reality an ...
on that slot apart from regions where
STV is on channel 103.
On 8 January 2024, Quest Red started broadcasting US crime dramas from
Warner Bros. Television.
Launch
Advance listings information indicated that the first programme screened on the channel would be an episode of ''
Homes Under the Hammer
''Homes Under the Hammer'' is a British factual renovation and auction television series that is screened on BBC One as part of the daytime schedule. The series has been running since 17 November 2003, and is currently presented by Martin Rober ...
''. Ahead of broadcast, this was changed: ''
Extreme Couponing'', which had initially been due to follow ''HUtH'' in the schedule, was brought forward to 10am, with ''HUtH'' following at 11am.
A placeholder for Quest Red was made available on the Virgin Media platform early in the morning of 15 March, ahead of the channel's launch; the new channel was added to the Sky programme guide at approximately 10:45am on launch day in Great Britain only, and to Freeview from noon. A number of other changes to services on the Freeview platform were made simultaneously with the addition of Quest Red, including a reduction in the broadcast hours of Quest +1, which also moved down the programme guide to release
LCN 38 to Quest Red.
Programming
*''
60 Minute Makover with Peter Andre''
*''
Animal Cops''
*''
Bondi Vet''
*''
Cake Boss''
*''
Disappeared''
*''Evil Lives Here''
*''
Extreme Couponing''
*''Forbidden: Dying for Love''
*''
Ghost Asylum''
*''
Jo Frost: Nanny On Tour''
*''Katie Price: My Crazy Life''
*''
Long Lost Family US''
*''
Gypsy Brides US''
*''
Homes Under the Hammer
''Homes Under the Hammer'' is a British factual renovation and auction television series that is screened on BBC One as part of the daytime schedule. The series has been running since 17 November 2003, and is currently presented by Martin Rober ...
''
*''House of Horrors: Kidnapped''
*''Is O.J. Innocent? The Missing Evidence''
*''
Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath''
*''
Long Island Medium''
*''Martin Kemp's Detective''
*''My Naked Secret''
*''
My 600-lb Life''
*''Nightmare Next Door''
*
''The Nolans Go Cruising''
*''
Paranormal Lockdown''
*''
Salvage Hunters''
*''
Say Yes to the Dress''
*''
Scorned: Love Kills''
*''Southern Fried Homicide''
*''
True Crime with Aphrodite Jones''
*''Vogue Williams Investigates''
See also
*
Quest
References
External links
Discovery Communications news release on the launch of Quest Red, 2017-02-16*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Quest Red
Television channels and stations established in 2017
English-language television stations in the United Kingdom
Warner Bros. Discovery networks
2017 establishments in the United Kingdom
Warner Bros. Discovery EMEA