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ABC1 is a United Kingdom based television channel from Disney utilizing the branding of the Disney owned American network, ABC . The channel initially launched exclusively on the British Digital Terrestrial Television platform Freeview on September 27 , 2004 . On December 10 2004 it was launched on Telewest 's digital cable service, and soon afterwards on the NTL digital cable service. On August 30 , 2005 , ABC1 was launched on the Sky Digital satellite platform. The channel is encrypted as part of the basic Sky package, and is therefore not Free-to-air , in contrast to its unencrypted status on Freeview and Cable Television . In October 2005 , ABC1 was carried on the NTL Ireland digital TV platform. PROGRAMMING The schedule consists entirely of American drama and comedy. The channel generally makes use of the ABC Television Studio back-catalogue. Programmes are mainly from the ABC network, such as '' Sports Night ''. It broadcasts '' Ellen '', the 90s sitcom by comedian Ellen DeGeneres and the Geena Davis sitcom '' The Geena Davis Show ''. Some of its programmes such as '' 8 Simple Rules '', '' Daddio '' and '' Home Improvement '' were also seen in the UK on Disney Channel , but were later moved over completely to ABC1, when it started airing on Sky Digital , to coincide with the full ''cartoon evenings''. On February 28 and March 1 , 2005 , the network shook up its schedule by introducing two major new comedies, '' Hope And Faith '' and '' Less Than Perfect '' to sandwich around the big ratings success of ''8 Simple Rules''. On May 31 the channel introduced '' Rodney '' to its schedule at 4pm weekdays and from the July 4 ABC1 began to air '' Scrubs '', which is also seen on other UK channels, E4 , Channel 4 , Sky One and Paramount Comedy 1 . For the first year after launching ABC1 broadcast from 6am to 6pm only. Commencing 26 September 2005 , the channel has broadcast 24 hours a day on Sky Digital and Virgin Media services. However, the channel did not go 24-hours on the Telewest (Now also Virgin Media) digital cable service until 21 October 2005 , and remains a 12 hour service (6 a.m. - 6 p.m.) on Freeview due to space restrictions on the platform. It is known that Disney would like the channel to go 24 hours on Freeview to boost its audience share in the evenings. NTL Ireland currently carries ABC1 24-hours, but for unknown reasons (a problem at ABC1, according to NTL) the guide reports "Channel Off Air" at 18:00 every day . ABC1 added US Drama '' Kevin Hill '' to its schedule on 26 September 2005 as well as the second seasons of '' Less Than Perfect '' and '' Sports Night '' towards the end of the year . '' 8 Simple Rules '' Season 3 was shown in March 2006, followed by '' Commander In Chief '', and '' The Guardian '', which joined the channel in April 2006. On June 5 2006 , ABC1 introduced a block of programming from Playhouse Disney , including '' Higglytown Heroes '', '' JoJo's Circus '' and '' Stanley ''. In July 2006, ABC1 started to air the second season of '' Scrubs '' and cult 90s drama '' Party Of Five ''. In August more new programming was made available from ABC1 from the likes of '' Rodney '' season 2 and a change in the schedule for Playhouse Disney on ABC1 with the addition of '' Little Einsteins ''. As of August 2006, all drama programming has been removed and the channel consists of back to back sitcoms, though some drama programming did come back in 2007. In September 2006 '' Hope And Faith '' season 3 started and broadcasting every Thursday in double bills from 9 p.m. Season 3 of '' Less Than Perfect '' also started in October. ABC1 is keen for its viewers to be able to see all of its programming on offer, and many programmes that première on the channel during non- Freeview hours are repeated at another time when the channel is available on Freeview (exceptions to this are ''The Guardian'' due to its subject matter, '' Ghost Whisperer '' and '' In Justice ''; although promotions for these programmes will air during the day whilst the channel is available on Freeview). It is also the only channel to time its running schedule so that Freeview viewers don't crash in and out of programmes at the 6 a.m./6 p.m. junctions. FUTURE PROGRAMMES
COMMERCIAL PLACEMENT Unlike most UK broadcasters, for its first six months ABC1 did not carry any commercials. However, it did have full-length ad-style breaks featuring trailers for its own shows and those of the Disney Channel . On ABC1, the advertising slots are placed in the American style of being close to the beginning and end of the programme, unlike the European fashion of between programmes and in the middle (both styles have four sections of adverts about four minutes each in length. The American style has the adverts at approximately 5, 25, 35 and 55 minutes past the hour as opposed to the standard European style of 0, 15, 30 and 45 minutes past). The exact placing of adverts vary from show to show and from episode to episode and can be anything from half a minute to eight minutes before or after the beginning and end of a show. On ABC1, hour-length programmes (such as '' Commander In Chief '') are often split into just three parts with the two ad-slots either end of the programme and the third roughly at the halfway point. Despite having the same amount of ad breaks, ABC1 breaks are considerably longer due to the shortening of American TV series which has been ongoing for decades, as of 2007 the average American sitcom runs at 20 minutes while the average Drama runs at 40 minutes, ABC1 often fills long breaks with bumpers and promotions of its own, or Disney Channel UK's, programming. CURRENT PROGRAMMING
Former Programming
Playhouse Disney on ABC1
CLOSURE On September 7 , 2007 , Disney announced its intentions to close ABC1. Disney stated that the inability to broadcast the channel peaktime on Freeview was a key factor in their decision. At present it is unknown if Disney will sell the ABC1 spectrum or replace it with another of its channels. ABC1 will switch off on October 1 2007 . |
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