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55-770: Telewest (previously Telewest Broadband and Telewest Communications ) was a cable internet , broadband internet , telephone supplier and cable television provider in the United Kingdom. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange , and was also once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index . In March 2006, Telewest merged with fellow cable telecom company NTL , and created "NTL:Telewest", which then also merged with Virgin Mobile and Virgin.net in June 2006, creating

110-496: A bandwidth cap , or other bandwidth throttling technique; users' download speed is limited during peak times, if they have downloaded a large amount of data that day. MTV (British and Irish TV channel) MTV is a British pay television channel focusing on reality TV and music programming operated by Paramount Networks UK & Australia . The channel launched as part of MTV Networks Europe localisation strategy in 1997. MTV UK (previously MTV UK & Ireland; MTV One)

165-464: A cash option ; the poor performance of the company's stock meant that the cash option was favourable, and the company was not able to cover the call. In September 2003, Telewest restructured itself, by swapping its unsecured debt for 98.5% of its shares. The London Stock Exchange then delisted the consolidated shares. Major Telewest shareholders included Huff and Liberty Media (run by cable tycoon John Malone ). The takeover of Telewest by NTL –

220-595: A PVR, and HDTV. This library included a free seven day watch again feature for television programmes produced by the BBC , Channel 4 and Virgin Media Television (formerly known as Flextech). On Demand also offered movies that could be purchased and watched as many times as desired within a twenty four hour period. On Demand also offered HD content that worked in conjunction with the Telewest PVR (now renamed

275-401: A cable modem at the customer's premises and a cable modem termination system (CMTS) at a cable operator facility, typically a cable television headend . The two are connected via coaxial cable to a hybrid fibre-coaxial (HFC) network. While access networks are referred to as last-mile technologies, cable Internet systems can typically operate where the distance between the modem and

330-479: A combination of the names of both founding companies. In June 1995, Telewest merged with SBC Communications, adding franchises in the Midlands and North West serving 1.3 million homes. During this time Telewest founded a consortium called Cable Internet. This consisted of the major cable companies in the United Kingdom working together a provide national Internet access service. In March 1998, Telewest announced

385-555: A company of similar size, operating in different parts of the UK – was announced in October 2005, at a reported cost of $ 6bn. At that time, Telewest had 8,400 staff in the UK. The combined company at first used the name NTL:Telewest, then changed its name to Virgin Media in 2007, following the acquisition of Virgin Mobile the previous year. In late 2004, negotiations for renewed carriage of

440-547: A fixed monthly fee. Mobile calls with 25% reduction from standard rates. Similar principle to Talk Mobile, with different reductions to different countries. Packages including 200, 400, or 800 minutes of usage per month. Telewest were the first landline company to offer a package of this kind which included bundled minutes every month that could be carried over to the next. It included calls to mobiles, landlines (01 and 02; latterly also 03), businesses with 0845 and 0870 numbers, and specified international mobiles and landlines. It

495-583: A free upgrade to the Disney Channel for periods of between one and three months, while others were reportedly offered upgrades to Sky Movies packages in an attempt to keep them from leaving. The Nickelodeon channels returned to the Telewest platform on 12 February 2005 following successful renegotiation in Nickelodeon's favour. Telewest used a number of marketing strategies over the years, with

550-512: A merged deal with its largest shareholder Tele-Communications Inc. (TCI), to form the largest cable operator in the United States; the deal was valued at $ 142.5m, and by June the deal was improved. The deal was finalised a week later on 8 June 1991, with TCI acquiring the remaining 46% of United Artists, to allow full control. TCI and US West announced a joint venture, and in 1992, the joint venture company became Telewest Communications,

605-827: A merger with General Cable, and acquired the outstanding interest in Birmingham Cable, adding a further 1.7 million franchise homes in Yorkshire, west London and Birmingham. Telewest purchased the remaining 50% stake in Cable London from NTL in August 1999, adding 0.4 million franchise homes in North London . Telewest merged with Flextech in April 2000, and in November, extended its cable network with

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660-486: A new schedule and on-air presentation. In 2002, MTV began to air programming from MTV US, similar to other MTV channels in Europe. MTV began to drop some of its localised programming in favour of MTV US shows. These shows included Jackass , Date My Mom and Dismissed . Despite targeted efforts to play certain types of music videos in limited rotation, MTV greatly reduced its overall rotation of music videos throughout

715-468: A population of users share the available bandwidth . Some technologies share only their core network , while some including cable internet and passive optical network (PON) also share the access network . This arrangement allows the network operator to take advantage of statistical multiplexing , a bandwidth sharing technique which is employed to distribute bandwidth fairly, in order to provide an adequate level of service at an acceptable price. However,

770-501: A solid corporate identity not coming out until the end of 2005, to coincide with a "three for £30" offer. Until 2007, the company used the mascot Ellie West to promote its services. In November 2004, when The Incredibles was released, Telewest promoted Blueyonder internet services with branding from the film, including television adverts starring characters from the film. Telewest provided several residential services on its cable network, including: The majority of Telewest's television

825-532: A £75 setup fee and £10/month, although no subscription HD channels were offered. Telewest's fees however included the TV Drive recording service, equivalent to the recording features of the Sky+ service. Telewest's internet service called Blueyonder, formerly branded as Cable Internet, used the cable infrastructure and offered speeds of 2  Mbit/s , 4 Mbit/s and 10 Mbit/s downstream. The broadband service

880-418: Is notable for being the only spin-off MTV channel to use the same song title graphics as its parent channel (although it had its own separate idents ). Launched on 6 September 2006, MTV Flux allowed viewers to take "control" of the channel by sending in video clips to MTV Flux's website, and requesting music videos. It was replaced by MTV +1 on 1 February 2008, a timeshift service of MTV. MTV had announced that

935-602: The BBC , and claimed to be the only provider in the United Kingdom to offer all the 2006 FIFA World Cup matches in HD. In reality, however, half of the final group stage matches were not available in HD. Telewest's HD service was provided exclusively through their TV Drive box. Sky launched their HD service in May 2006, initially charging a £300 setup fee and an additional £10/month for several subscription HD channels, including HD versions of Sky One, Sky Movies and Sky Sports. Telewest charged

990-498: The Euro Top 20 , MTV Select , MTV News , MTV News Weekend Edition , Non-Stop Hits, US Top 20 Hitlist UK, Stylissimo, The Big Picture, Up 4 It and The Lick. The channel promoted mainly English-speaking music programming and music. In 1999, MTV Networks Europe announced that it would expand its channel portfolio within the UK and Ireland. On 1 July 1999, MTV launched MTV Base and MTV Extra . MTV UK & Ireland also rebranded with

1045-518: The Nickelodeon channels (Nickelodeon, Nick Jr. and Nicktoons ) broke down; Telewest was unwilling to pay extra to keep the channels and preferred to drop them. Other Viacom -owned channels remained, such as MTV and, the now former, Paramount Comedy 1 . The reaction to this by customers was fairly large and many left the provider to rival Sky , with Nickelodeon even encouraging the move. Other customers were retained by Telewest offering them

1100-501: The "Flux" format would be integrated into its other channels, and so the website still remains. MTV2 was launched in 2002 replacing M2. The channel focused on rock and indie music and featured shows such as MTV2 Most Wanted and Gonzo. The channel was replaced with MTV Rocks on 1 March 2010. MTV's general entertainment channel featuring reruns and new episodes of MTV's reality shows. Formerly MTV R until 1 March 2010. The channel ceased operating from 1 February 2011. Its broadcast capacity

1155-474: The 1960s onwards, sometimes featuring music videos and concert footage from as early as at least the 1940s or 1950s, such as Bing Crosby's "White Christmas" from 1942. It also aired videos from the 2000s and early 2010s. Every November and December from 2013 until 2021, MTV Classic played Christmas-themed music branded as MTV Xmas. On 31 March 2022, the channel closed down, and was replaced by MTV 80s . Beginning in 2022, some MTV-branded channels began to appear on

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1210-492: The 1990s. MTV 80s was the British version of the international music TV channel MTV 80s, which began broadcasting on 31 March 2022, replacing MTV Classic. It was first launched as a temporary rebrand of MTV Classic from 28 February to 31 March 2020. The channel broadcasts music from the 1980s. It was replaced by MTV 80's international feed in 2024. Launched on 1 May 2001, MTV Hits is a channel which plays chart music videos. It

1265-792: The ISP's IP (Internet Protocol) network. Downstream , the direction toward the user, bit rates can be as high as 1 Gbit/s . Upstream traffic, originating at the user, ranges from 384 kbit/s to more than 50 Mbit/s, although maximum effective range seems to be unknown. One downstream channel can handle hundreds of cable modems. As the system grows, the CMTS can be upgraded with more downstream and upstream ports, and grouped into hub CMTSs for efficient management. Most Data Over Cable Service Interface Specification ( DOCSIS ) cable modems restrict upload and download rates, with customizable limits. These limits are set in configuration files which are downloaded to

1320-440: The UK and Ireland. MTV first became available in the UK when MTV Europe launched on 1 August 1987. On July 1, 1997, at 06:00 Western European time, MTV UK began broadcasting in the UK and Ireland as part of MTV Networks Europe's regionalisation strategy. The first video clip shown on the air was " Three Lions " by The Lightning Seeds . MTV UK & Ireland launched with specialised content of hit MTV Europe shows which included

1375-411: The UK, the day following its broadcast on Channel 5 . On 13 February 2012, a high-definition simulcast of MTV called MTV HD launched. MTV 90s is a British pay television music channel owned by Paramount Networks UK & Australia that launched on 31 March 2022 replacing MTV Base. It was first launched as a temporary rebrand of MTV Classic from 27 May to 24 June 2016. The channel broadcasts music from

1430-410: The UK. MTV Extra was launched in 1999 and was a mixture of music videos and repeats of MTV programming. Towards the end of the channel's life, programming was dropped and the channel showed solely music videos (under the "Pure Music" name), with MTV Dance in the evenings. MTV Dance was spun off into its own channel on 20 April 2001, and MTV Extra was renamed MTV Hits at 6am on 1 May 2001. MTV Extra

1485-597: The United Kingdom's first " quadruple play " telecom provider, offering television, internet, landline phone and mobile phone services. In February 2007, NTL:Telewest was rebranded as Virgin Media . Telewest originated in Croydon in 1984 under the name "Croydon Cable". United Cable, of Denver , acquired Croydon Cable in 1988. Franchises extended the company scope into Edinburgh and the southwest and southeast of England. In 1989, United Cable merged with United Artists Cable International. In May 1991, United Artists announced

1540-547: The V+). Telewest's HD service initially comprised around 10–30 hours per week of video on demand content, with no linear high definition television channels available, although the early trial services of BBC HD and ITV HD were carried for a brief time. In January 2006, Telewest started to broadcast HD documentaries such as The Blue Planet , Planet Earth and Pride through their Teleport service, and later broadcast some movies in HD. Telewest had an agreement with both ITV and

1595-495: The acquisition of Eurobell , taking the total number of homes passed to 4.9 million. The company later became known as "Telewest Broadband" in a rebrand during 2001. Telewest experienced financial difficulties in subsequent years, owing to the debts incurred as a result of constructing its cable network and acquiring other cable companies and assets. Notably, the Eurobell acquisition had been funded by an equity based deal, with

1650-412: The channel and moved it to newly launched channel MTV Music ; the only music that remains is the occasional MTV Most Wanted strand. The channel became a general entertainment channel and was moved to the entertainment section of Sky's EPG at channel 126, with MTV +1 moving to 160. The move resulted in an increase in the channel's audience share of nearly 150% in the 6 weeks after the change, while viewing

1705-402: The channel had aired before and after the launch, highlighting the catch-up ability of the new channel. The channel was known as MTV One +1 between 1 February 2008 and 1 July 2009. Coinciding with the closures of MTV OMG , MTV Rocks and Club MTV on 20 July 2020, the timeshift channel also closed as part of this change, along with the timeshifts for MTV Music and Comedy Central Extra . TMF

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1760-453: The channels. Promotion started on 1 July 2007 under the title 'MTV New 22.07.07'. The rebrand saw viewers engaging with the channel. In early 2009, it was announced that MTV One would be rebranded as simply MTV and the one-hour timeshift MTV One +1 as MTV +1 on 1 July 2009. For most of 2008, MTV's main source of music video programming was based on its sister channels MTV Two , MTV Hits , MTV Dance , MTV Base and TMF . As of 2009

1815-517: The first decade of the 2000s. While music videos dominated the channel in early 2000-2002 the rate of music rotation declined rapidly. Similar trends are noted on other European MTV channels and other sister networks in the US. In July 2007, MTV in the UK was renamed to 'MTV One' with a major new branding launching across most of the MTV channels. MTV2 was renamed 'MTV Two' to follow the consistent branding across

1870-479: The light pulses into RF signals in coaxial cables again using transmitter and receiver modules, and the cable modem termination system (CMTS) connects to these coaxial cables. An example of an optics platform is the Arris CH3000. There are two coaxial cables at the CMTS for each node: one for the downstream (download speed signal), and the other for the upstream (upload speed signal). The CMTS then connects to

1925-457: The main source of income for the channel, ringtone advertising , had slowed down. MTV replaced VH2 with MTV Flux , which was in turn replaced with a timeshift version of MTV. Launched on 26 October 2009, Viva was the new music and entertainment channel, which replaced TMF . The channel shown content from sister channels MTV and Comedy Central , as well as programmes from Nickelodeon and Spike , with some acquired content airing as well. As

1980-540: The modem using the Trivial File Transfer Protocol , when the modem first establishes a connection to the provider's equipment. Some users have attempted to override the bandwidth cap and gain access to the full bandwidth of the system by uploading their own configuration file to the cable modem - a process called uncapping . In most residential broadband technologies, such as cable Internet, DSL , satellite internet , or wireless broadband ,

2035-534: The modems are connected with coaxial cable to a coaxial cable "trunk" via distribution "taps" on the trunk, which then connects to the node, possibly using amplifiers along the trunk. The optical node converts the Radiofrequency (RF) signal in the coaxial cable trunk into light pulses to be sent through optical fibers in the HFC network. At the other end of the network, an optics platform or headend platform converts

2090-588: The network served United Kingdom and Ireland. For a short period the channel was made available free-to-air in New Zealand between July 1997 to June 1998 under a special agreement between TVNZ and MTV Networks Europe. The channel was broadcast on analogue from the Astra 1A satellite as part of the Sky Multichannels subscription package. In April 2001, the channel became a digital-only channel within

2145-461: The only MTV channel sitting on the Freeview platform, it was MTV UK's highest-rating service. The channel unexpectedly closed on 31 January 2018. VH1 was a channel targeted at 25- to 44-year-olds playing chart and popular music from the 1970s to the present day. It also carried music programming and themed countdown shows from their US counterpart. The channel closed on 7 January 2020. MTV Base

2200-421: The only music based programming on MTV include MTV Push , MTV World Stage and MTV Iggy . These shows are produced by MTV Networks International and are shown on most MTV channels worldwide. On 1 July 2009 MTV available in the UK and Ireland adopted MTV's global identity as part of MTV International. 64 MTV channels now share similar music and entertainment content and similar on-air and online branding. Part of

2255-420: The operator has to monitor usage patterns and scale the network appropriately, to ensure that customers receive adequate service even during peak-usage times. If the network operator does not provide enough bandwidth for a particular neighborhood, the connection would become saturated and speeds would drop if many people are using the service at the same time, or drop out completely. Operators have been known to use

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2310-451: The rebrand saw a 50/50 balance in the number of music based programming and reality based TV series that air on the channels. From 2010, MTV increased its music output which has since been diluted by reality based television programmes. As part of a global strategy MTV music content with the launch of MTV World Stage and Friday Night Music, both shows helped to maintain MTV's audience figures. On 1 February 2011, MTV removed all music from

2365-528: The same time. On 29 June 2016, MTV Live HD was replaced by Nick Jr. HD on Sky in the United Kingdom and Ireland but continues on Virgin Media. MTV Ireland is an Irish opt-out feed of MTV UK that was launched on 22 February 2004. It features localised advertising and sponsorship for the Irish market. As of February 2019 the broadcasting licence is held by RTTV in the Czech Republic, moving from Ofcom in

2420-411: The termination system is up to 160 kilometres (99 mi). If the HFC network is large, the cable modem termination system can be grouped into hubs for efficient management. Several standards have been used for cable internet, but the most common is DOCSIS. A cable modem at the customer is connected via coaxial cable to an optical node, and thus into an HFC network. An optical node serves many modems as

2475-399: Was 'uncapped', meaning that its use was unlimited and no extra charges were payable related to the amount of data downloaded. The offering included free webspace where customers could create their own websites, which was discontinued for new customers after the rebranding to Virgin Media. In November 2006, after the merger with NTL, The Register reported that subscriber traffic management

2530-489: Was a British pay television music channel from Paramount Networks UK & Australia that focused primarily on hip hop, R&B, grime, garage, reggae, funk, soul and dance music. MTV Base closed on 31 March 2022, and was replaced by MTV 90s . MTV Classic was a British pay television music channel from Paramount Networks UK & Australia. The channel was launched in the United Kingdom and Ireland on 1 July 1999 as VH1 Classic. It focused on music videos and music specials from

2585-556: Was available nationally, varying in price depending on the number of minutes. Telewest owned Flextech , a content-provider with a number of wholly owned channels (including Bravo and LIVINGtv ). Additionally, Flextech had a 50% share in UKTV (with BBC Worldwide ), and owned Sit-Up Ltd , who operated Screenshop , bid TV , price-drop TV and Speed Auction TV . More than 400,000 television service subscribers. Cable Internet access Broadband cable Internet access requires

2640-415: Was being trialled in areas of northern England, and would be rolled out nationwide. Blueyonder also provided dial-up internet services on a pay-as-you-go tariff, or a fixed monthly fee of £14.99 for unlimited use. Provided landline calls for up to an hour for a fixed fee monthly inclusive of line rental. Telewest were the first landline company in the United Kingdom to offer 'unlimited' calls to landlines for

2695-413: Was digital. There were, however, areas that received an analogue service (Slough, Windsor and some areas in west London). Late in its independent existence, Telewest was in the process of converting the remaining analogue areas to digital, and it was expected that the analogue service would cease in 2007. The digital television service offered a number of different products including true video on demand ,

2750-476: Was down nearly 20% on Virgin Media during the same period, where the channel had yet to move. On 29 May 2013 MTV was moved to the entertainment section of Virgin Media's EPG on channel 134. MTV was rebranded once again to the current logo on 1 July 2011, and began broadcasting in 16:9 widescreen at the same time. A high-definition simulcast of MTV launched on 13 February 2012 on Sky in the UK and Ireland. In 2016, MTV started showing repeats of Big Brother UK in

2805-634: Was launched as a free-to-air television channel on Freeview on 30 October 2002 to compete against EMAP 's The Hits (now 4Music ). It originally started as a non-stop music channel, although the network featured more programming from MTV and its other sister channels from early 2004. The channel was replaced with Viva on 26 October 2009. VH2 was launched in December 2003 and shown mainly music videos and live concerts. It focused on rock, indie and punk music and branded itself as 'the alternative to manufactured pop'. The channel closed on 1 August 2006 because

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2860-445: Was launched on 1 July 1997. The channel was set up to provide audiences with local artists and more relevant music content. Prior to the localisation of MTV in Europe, the region was served by MTV Europe which was launched on 1 August 1987. Since February 2011 MTV has been solely an entertainment channel. The channel is in over 10 million homes in the UK and Ireland. From its inception, MTV UK (then branded as MTV UK & Ireland)

2915-580: Was previously known as MTV Two and was replaced by MTV Rocks on 1 March 2010. MTV Two was previously MTV2 Europe and M2 respectively. The channel closed on 20 July 2020. Launched on 1 March 2018. MTV OMG was the channel for music and gossip, replacing Viva . The channel closed on 20 July 2020. Launched on 23 May 2018. Club MTV was the channel plays dance, EDM and urban music, replacing MTV Dance . The channel closed on 20 July 2020. Launched on 1 February 2008 at midday, this timeshift service of MTV replaced MTV Flux, which in turn had replaced VH2 . Trailers for

2970-518: Was relocated to the Music section of the Sky guide for use as MTV Music . MTV Dance was the dedicated dance music channel with music videos and programming of underground and mainstream dance tracks. The channel was replaced with Club MTV on 23 May 2018. MTV Rocks was a channel dedicated to alternative rock music, with other commercial mainstream music types found on MTV's other music channels. MTV Rocks

3025-423: Was replaced by MTV Hits international feed in 2024. Launched on 1 February 2011 - MTV Music broadcasts non-stop music videos, live performances and artist interviews. Direct from Warsaw and broadcast throughout Europe, MTV Live is a 24-hour standard and high definition music and entertainment channel. The channel was rebranded from MTVNHD to MTV Live HD on 23 April 2012, gaining a standard definition simulcast at

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