is an entertainment
Television channel in the
United Kingdom owned by
ITV Plc .
It launched on the terrestrial (
Freeview ), cable (
NTL and
Telewest ) and
Digital satellite (
Sky Digital ) on
November 1 ,
2004 .
Originally speculation was rife over whether it would launch on the Digital Satellite platform immediately, but after a deal whereby the transmission of another ITV channel,
Plus , was hastily ceased just 30 minutes prior to launch, ITV3 took its channel number and bandwidth meaning all platforms could launch simultaneously. Staff at Plus were given 15 minutes' notice. On satellite, it is available as a
Free-to-air channel, and as such does not require an active Sky Digital subscription.
The channel had been available from launch on
NTL Ireland , but was pulled on
22 March 2006 . This is believed to have been at the request of
ITV Plc , which had previously barred Irish newspapers from publishing details of ITV channels and regions other than
UTV and
Men And Motors .
The channel is mainly aimed at the over 35 audience, and the company are hoping to use it, and extra investment into its ''.
