Picture format 16:9 SDTV Language English | Country United Kingdom | |
Launched 24 January 2005 (2005-01-24) Owned by Sony Pictures Television Audience share 0.01% (September 2015 (2015-09), BARB) | ||
Starz TV (formerly Fizz TV) is a digital satellite TV channel, owned by Sony Pictures Television.
Contents
Launch and output
Fizz TV launched on 24 January 2005 on Sky channel 468. The output of the station is music videos from a range of genres that are currently popular in the charts. The channel also has a heavy interactive texting element, through the viewers being able to send in text messages and pictures to show on screen.
Reshuffles
The channel moved to Sky channel 361 on 28 February 2006 as part of an expanded reshuffle of the EPG, in this case in the music section, to make more room in the Sports section, and on 4 August 2008, moved again to Sky channel 371, due to Sky Movies starting to broadcast in high-definition.
Company moves
The parent company of Channel U and Fizz TV, Video Interactive Television, went into voluntary liquidation at the beginning of February 2009, before being purchased by Mushroom TV. When purchasing the two channels, Mushroom TV agreed that Channel U and Fizz TV should be rebranded. The two channels were rebranded as Channel AKA and Starz TV on 16 March 2009.
On 22 June 2012, Mushroom TV entered liquidation. Ofcom's television broadcast licensing update for May 2012, indicates that Starz TV was sold to Cloud Television One Limited.
As of 2014, it is now owned by CSC Media Group.
Freesat
On 15 April 2014, Starz TV launched on Freesat, replacing BuzMuzik, which closed 12 days earlier, on channel 505.
On 2 May 2015, it moved to channel 504, in a reshuffle of the Music section to fit Viva into the section, after its entertainment programmes had been removed due to the launch of Spike on 15 April.
Non-Stop Hits on Starz
This program features all the latest hits, and some old ones for takeovers or special holidays. Songs are labeled by a four-digit number (before November 2008, it was a three-digit number). Starz most commonly airs this program. It was originally called Starz Music, before renaming to Non-Stop Starz Music in 2013. In summer 2015, this was temporarily renamed to Starz Summer Tunes. It was renamed to Non-Stop Hits on Starz on 7 September 2015.
Starz TV launched these programmes in 2016:
Hottest Hits on Starz
A morning version of Non-Stop Starz Music (this one is full screen). This program features the hottest hits on Starz TV right now. In summer 2015, this was temporarily renamed to Hottest Summer Hits on Starz.
Starz Unsigned
This program featured unsigned acts, classic Starz videos & rarely played videos.
Off Your Bass
This program aired at weekends only and featured classic & new dubstep and drum and bass, similar to Channel AKA's former "Drum & Bass" and "Dubstep1.TV" programmes.
Full on Starz
This aired from 10:00 pm and allowed viewers to send in explicit pictures and the channel would also play explicit videos.