A new entertainment channel from
Channel 4 Television Corporation.
E4 launched on January 18, 2001, E4 in competition to Sky One, and complimenting the existing Channel 4 service. They have secured the rights to the new series of ER and Friends, which was a former Sky One ratings puller.
Other prime time shows are a mixture of repeats and first showings of programs which will make C4 eventually, such as Ali G, Ally McBeal, Graham Norton, Trigger Happy TV, The Sopranos and Banzai.
The channel is available on Telewest and ntl cable, ON digital, and Sky Digital, at no extra cost on most channel packages.
From the launch until May 26, 2001, the station had been on from 1600 - 0400, daily, with the last four hours being repeats of the late evening programming. The rest of the day, the channel just showed a promo loop video. Now, instead of this, the airtime is used to show live, uninterrupted coverage from the Big Brother house. In practice, there's about a 10 minute delay, and they take a commercial break every 20 minutes, but it's perfect wallpaper television...
The Big Brother coverage is also interactive, with available features depending on how you receive the channel. Sky Digital viewers get the best deal, with a choice of four camera angles, while other platforms getting show news, games, and voting features.