Sky Witness is a British pay television channel owned and operated by Sky, a division of Comcast. The channel primarily broadcasts shows from the United States, aimed at the 18–45 age group. An Italian version of Sky Witness, named Sky Investigation, launched on 1 July 2021.[1]
Logo used since 2020
| |
| Programming | |
|---|---|
| Picture format | 1080i HDTV (downscaled to 16:9 576i for the SDTV feed.) |
| Timeshift service | Sky Witness +1 |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Sky Group (Comcast) |
| Sister channels | List of Sky UK channels |
| History | |
| Launched | 6 August 2018; 5 years ago (6 August 2018) |
| Replaced | Sky Living |
| Availability | |
| Streaming media | |
| Sky Go | Watch live (UK and Ireland only) |
| Now | Watch live (UK and Ireland only) |
| Virgin TV Go | Watch live (UK only) |
| Virgin TV Anywhere | Watch live (Ireland only) Watch live (+1) (Ireland only) |
Sky Witness's history can be traced back to 1993 when UK Living began broadcasting. The channel was purchased by BSkyB in 2010 and announced on 25 October 2010, that Living would be rebranded as Sky Living in early 2011 to improve their entertainment line-up.[2]
On 8 June 2018, Sky announced that Sky Living would be closed and replaced on 6 August by a new channel Sky Witness, bringing an end to the Living brand after 25 years.[3][4]
Following the acquisition of Sky by Comcast, which already operated Universal TV, much of the programming previously screened on Universal TV, particularly first-run acquired series, transferred to Sky Witness, allowing Universal to be closed and replaced by Sky Comedy.
Sky Witness is also available in Ireland via Sky Ireland and Virgin Media Ireland.[6] The Irish opt-out feed features localised advertising and sponsorship.
The same Sky Witness schedule, shown in both the UK and Ireland, also includes a selection of documentary programming from both the Irish Broadcasters, RTE and TV3/Virgin Media Television Ireland (the Irish broadcaster now owned by the cable TV company of the same name in Ireland, not to be confused with the earlier Flextech version of Virgin Media Television). Also there is some independently produced series, some commissioned directly by Sky, focusing on Ireland's various emergency services, medical, and certain Government of Ireland agencies, such as the Revenue Commissioners. The selection is similar to the genres focusing on other countries equivalent agencies, also shown on Sky Witness.
An Italian version of Sky Witness called Sky Investigation launched on 1 July 2021 with programming such as The Equalizer, Unforgettable, The Blacklist, Coroner, Law & Order, Law & Order: SVU, Bull, Private Eyes, Elementary and NCIS.