Archive:List of channels of Sky Multichannels (1998)
Sky Multichannels was the analogue subscription satellite television service operated by British Sky Broadcasting (BSkyB) on the Astra satellites from 1 September 1993 until 27 September 2001. By 1998, it was the main multichannel package available to viewers in the United Kingdom and Ireland, offering a wide range of channels including entertainment, movies, sports, children’s programming, and third-party services. The service relied on VideoCrypt encryption, requiring a decoder and subscription for most channels, while Sky News remained free-to-air. Sky Multichannels had grown significantly since its launch, with a mixture of Sky-owned channels such as Sky One, Sky Movies, and Sky Sports, as well as licensed channels from other broadcasters, some of which shared timeslots or rotated schedules to maximize the limited analogue bandwidth.
In October 1998, BSkyB launched Sky Digital, a new digital satellite service providing higher quality picture and sound, interactive features, and a vastly expanded channel lineup. Despite the introduction of digital, Sky continued to operate the analogue Multichannels service in parallel for several years to serve customers who had not yet upgraded. Many analogue channels were simultaneously carried on the digital platform, sometimes with extended hours or additional services exclusive to digital. In 1998 specifically, Sky Multichannels remained the primary way for viewers to access multichannel satellite television on analogue, with Sky Digital just beginning to roll out to early adopters, marking a transitional year in BSkyB’s move from analogue to digital broadcasting.
Channels
Note:
- The channel numbers below are the recommended line-up from BSkyB at the time.
- "24 hours" refers to a TV day (06:00 to 05:59)
| Number | Name | Logo | Owner or parent company | Broadcast hours | Frequency |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sky One | 
|
BSkyB | 24 hours | 11.318 V |
| 2 | Sky News | 
|
24 hours | 11.327 V | |
| 3 | Sky Movies Screen 1 | 
|
24 hours | 11.436 V | |
| 4 | Sky Movies Screen 2 | 
|
24 hours | 11.479 V | |
| 5 | The Disney Channel | 
|
Disney Television International | 06:00-22:00 | 11.597 V |
| Sky Movies Gold | 
|
BSkyB | 22:00-05:00 | ||
| 6 | Sky Sports 1 | 
|
07:00-15:00 (Sun-Thu) 24 hours (Fri-Sat) |
11.509 V | |
| 7 | Nickelodeon | _1993.svg){kind=small}
|
MTV Networks Europe (Viacom) |
06:00-19:00 | 11.156 V |
| Paramount Comedy Channel | 
|
19:00-04:00 | |||
| 8 | European Business News | 
|
Dow Jones & Company/ NBC (General Electric) |
06:00-12:00 | 11.097 V |
| Trouble | 
|
FlexTech | 12:00-20:00 | ||
| Bravo | 
|
20:00-06:00 | |||
| 9 | Discovery Home & Leisure | 
|
Discovery Communications | 09:00-16:00 | 11.082 V |
| Discovery Channel | 
|
16:00-02:00 | |||
| 10 | TCC | 
|
FlexTech | 06:00-18:00 | 10.994 V |
| Challenge TV | 
|
18:00-06:00 | |||
| 11 | UK Gold | 
|
BBC Enterprises/FlexTech | 24 hours | 11.553 V |
| 12 | QVC | 
|
QVC | 24 hours | 11.038 V |
| 13 | UK Living | 
|
BBC Enterprises/FlexTech | 06:00-00:00 | 11.979 V |
| 14 | MTV Europe | 
|
MTV Networks Europe (Viacom) |
24 hours | 11.421 H |
| 15 | VH1 | 
|
24 hours | 11.538 V | |
| 16 | Sky Sports 2 | 
|
BSkyB | 07:00-15:00 (Sun-Thu) 24 hours (Fri-Sat) |
11.171 H |
| 17 | Sky Sports 3 | 
|
12:00-23:30 (Mon-Thu) 12:00-00:00 (Fri-Sat) |
11.671 H | |
| 18 | Fox Kids | .svg)
|
Fox Kids Europe | 06:00-19:00 | 11.303 H |
| National Geographic Channel | 
|
National Geographic Television & Film/BSkyB | 19:00-01:00 | ||
| 19 | Granada Plus | 
|
Granada | 08:00-23:00 | 11.244 H |
| Granada Men & Motors | 
|
23:00-02:00 | |||
| 20 | The Weather Channel | 
|
The Weather Channel/BSkyB | 06:00-11:00 | 10.877 V |
| The Racing Channel | Satellite Information Services | 11:00-18:00 (Mon-Sat) | |||
| Sky Movies Gold |
|
BSkyB | 18:00-05:00 (Mon-Sat) 11:00-05:00 (Sun) | ||
| 21 | Sky Scottish | 
|
18:00-20:00 | 10.862 H | |
| 22 | Granada Good Life | 
|
Granada | 06:00-18:00 | 10.847 V |
| The Computer Channel | FlexTech | 18:00-20:00 | |||
| 24 | CMT | 
|
MTV Networks Europe (Viacom) |
24 hours | 10.744 H |
| 25 | 5 | 
|
United News & Media/CLT-UFA/ Warner Bros./Granada |
24 hours | 10.921 H |
| 26 | Sky Soap | 
|
BSkyB | 11:00-16:00 | 11.568 V |
| The History Channel | 
|
A&E Television Networks (The Walt Disney Company/Hearst Corporation)/BSkyB | 16:00-20:00 | ||
| The Sci-Fi Channel | 
|
Universal Studios (Seagram) |
20:00-04:00 | ||
| 27 | Sky Travel | 
|
BSkyB | 11:00-16:00 (Mon-Fri) | 11.127 V |
| Sky Movies Gold |
|
16:00-06:00 (Mon-Fri) 11:00-04:00 (Sat-Sun) | |||
| 28 | CNBC | 
|
Dow Jones & Company/ NBC (General Electric) |
24 hours | 10.729 V |
| 28 | Cartoon Network | 
|
Turner Broadcasting System (Time Warner) |
06:00-20:00 | 11.023 H |
| TNT | 
|
20:00-05:00 | |||
| 30 | Eurosport | 
|
EBU/TF1 Group | 24 hours | 11.258 H |
| 31 | CNN | 
|
Turner Broadcasting System (Time Warner) |
24 hours | 11.627 V |
See also
Past channel changes
Select year to see that year's changes
| 1982 to 1999 | ||||
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