Sky One

World Screen Weekly, August 23, 2007

COUNTRY: United Kingdom

LAUNCH DATE: 1989

OWNERSHIP: British Sky Broadcasting (BSkyB)

DISTRIBUTION: 8.5 million subscribers

DESCRIPTION: Sky One is satellite platform BSkyB’s flagship general-entertainment channel, directly competing with the British terrestrials with a mix of high-profile American dramas like Lost and 24 as well as hit light-entertainment formats and edgy factual fare.

DIRECTOR OF PROGRAMMING: Richard Woolfe

COMMISSIONING EDITOR, ENTERTAINMENT

& FEATURES: Donna Taberer

COMMISSIONING EDITOR, ENTERTAINMENT

& FACTUAL ENTERTAINMENT: Steve Jones

COMMISSIONING EDITOR, FACTUAL: Andrew O’Connell

COMMISSIONING EDITOR, SPECIALIST FACTUAL

& FACTUAL ENTERTAINMENT: Emma Read

COMMISSIONING EDITOR, DRAMA: Sarah Conroy

PROGRAMMING STRATEGY: Sky One has been in the press a fair bit of late, partly because its absence from the Virgin Media lineup contributed to a 40,000 drop in the cable platform’s subscribers in the second quarter of this year.

As a key part of the Sky offering, however, the channel still has the majority of its distribution intact, and it is promising subscribers its strongest lineup to date this fall.

According to Richard Woolfe, the director of programming at Sky One, Two and Three, the channel will build on its strong success with key U.S. imports like Lost, 24 and Bones; acclaimed factual properties such as Ross Kemp on Gangs and celebrity and reality programming along the lines of Cirque de Celebrit�. Also in the mix will be more original British drama like Terry Pratchett’s Hogfather, which brought in 2.8 million viewers last December.

All of those properties air in prime time, which Woolfe says is where the channel needs to “shine the most.” The daily schedule kicks off with a morning news service, while from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. the channel offers up a host of American series, including Angel and Stargate Atlantis. “From five o’clock onwards we’re really thinking about the kids coming back from school and we’re about offering great programming that will be brilliant for family audiences,” says Woolfe. “We’re building up to our Simpsons block [at 7 p.m.] at that point. From eight o’clock it’s still very much mindful of family audiences, so that’s where our award-winning shows like Brainac, a factual entertainment series, air. And then dramas or our factual programming kick in from nine o’clock.”

Woolfe describes Sundays as Sky One’s “big night,” where the channel will air the new season of The Simpsons and other imported flagship brands like 24 and Prison Break and event reality programming such as Cirque de Celebrit�.

WHAT’S NEW: For the fall season, there are several American dramas that Woolfe is particularly excited about. Among them is Journeyman, from Twentieth Century Fox Television Distribution, which stars Scottish actor Kevin McKidd, known for parts in Rome and Trainspotting, in the title role. Woolfe is also excited to have scooped the third season of Prison Break, another Fox show, from Five. “I think it will be a much better fit on Sky One,” Woolfe says.

On the entertainment front, Sky picked up the rights to produce a British version of the FOX game show Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader?. Slated to air as Are You Smarter Than a 10-Year-Old?, the show will run on Sunday nights with Noel Edmonds as host. Sky has thrown its weight behind the show, commissioning 70 one-hour episodes.

Sky has recruited a high-profile host for another Reveille format, Nothing But the Truth, which will be presented by controversial U.S. talk-show personality Jerry Springer. Other highlights for the fall schedule include Premier League All Stars, in which all 20 Premier League teams will be fielding English football legends, celebrities and club fans as they battle it out in an eight-day tournament. Cirque de Celebrit� returns with 12 more celebrities vying to become accomplished circus performers, and there will be more episodes of Ross Kemp on Gangs and Bravo U.S.’s Project Runway.

On the drama front, Sky has commissioned a sequel to the BAFTA-winning Terry Pratchett’s Hogfather. The Colour Of Magic, a multimillion-pound adaptation of the first Discworld novel, is currently filming at Pinewood Studios and features a cast that includes Sir David Jason, Tim Curry, Sean Astin and Christopher Lee.

WEBSITE: www.skyone.co.uk

—By Mansha Daswani