Sky launches new arts channel
Tuesday, August 19th, 2008Sky Hearts Art
It has long been a gripe of those who enjoy the arts that there are simply not enough cultural programmes on TV. Indeed, this week’s terrestrial schedule has a paltry offering – cultural “highlights” include Maestro, in which celebs attempt to conduct the BBC concert orchestra, badly, and the Edinburgh Festival Show, both on BBC2.
So a new arts channel from Sky should put a smile back on the faces of dissatisfied arts enthusiasts. Replacing the current Sky Arts Channel, Sky will be launching Sky Arts 1, which will showcase contemporary art, rock concerts and documentaries, and Sky Arts 2, which is to focus on classical music, opera and dance. Sky Arts HD will show programmes from both channels in High Definition.
Programmes include The Book Show hosted by Mariella Fostrup; a series of operas from the New York Metropolitan, including Romeo and Juliet and Macbeth; The Classical Top Ten, hosted by Vanessa Mae; and a four-part documentary of the late British painter Edward Seago.
The managing director of Sky entertainment, Sophie Turner Laing, said it was more difficult for terrestrial channels to maintain their arts content because they were driven by ratings. “To us they are not the be-all and end-all because the viewers have already decided to be with us. We have airtime available to make it easy for people to watch arts programming.”
She went on to say: “At a time when other broadcasters’ commitment to the arts is open to question, we firmly believe in giving our customers the best choice, all delivered in the highest possible quality, HD.
“This is further evidence of our commitment to invest in the content that people love and demonstrates how pay-TV can meet viewers’ individual needs.”
The Channels are due to be launched on 20th October, and together will broadcast 36 hours of arts output a day.
