Sky 2 (1996/7 channel)
Sky 2 was a short-lived television channel launched by British Sky Broadcasting on 1 September 1996 as a sister channel to Sky One, and which formed part of an expanding bouquet of channels in Sky's analogue package around this time, including The Computer Channel and Sky Scottish. Sky 2 broadcast from 7 pm to 6 am nightly, time-sharing with another new channel, Fox Kids, which was broadcast from 6 am until 7 pm. Sky used the launch of the new channel and the rebrand of Sky 1 to introduce DOGs, on both channels.
 | |
| Broadcast area | United Kingdom, Ireland |
|---|---|
| Ownership | |
| Owner | British Sky Broadcasting |
| Sister channels | Sky 1 |
| History | |
| Launched | 1 September 1996 |
| Closed | 31 August 1997 |
| Replaced by | National Geographic Channel |
| Availability (at time of closure) | |
| Satellite | |
| Sky Multichannels | Astra 1A, 11.303H transponder 7 |
On its opening night Sky 2 held an X-Files theme night. In addition to programmes shared with its parent, the new channel showed exclusive first-run television shows. Prominent shows on its schedule included Xena: Warrior Princess, Profit, TekWar and Melrose Place.
Even though the channel reached viewing figures comparable to that of its sister channel, it was generally not as successful. Sky 2 closed in 1997. the National Geographic Channel took over the Sky 2 space until the end of Sky's analogue service in 2001.