Freeview users will unlock a new channel at the same time as Sky TV customers later this month
Freeview and Sky TV viewers will be treated to a new channel from Narrative Entertainment on March 20
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If you’re struggling to find something to watch, you’ll be glad to know that there’s a new channel coming to Freeview and Sky hardware this month. Free-to-air channel Great! Real will make its debut on March 20 and pack its schedule with popular documentary series.
The channel will broadcast shows like Heathrow: Britain’s Busiest Airport, Paddington Station 24/7, Island Medics, Emergency Rescue: Air, Land and Sea, and Coast Guard Alaska. It marks the first effort from Narrative Entertainment, the parent company behind all Great!-branded channels, to move into unscripted television.
The newly-revealed logo for Great! Real, which will be the first free-to-view channel from Narrative Entertainment that focuses entirely on unscripted content
NARRATIVE ENTERTAINMENT PRESS OFFICE
Great! Real is completely free-to-watch since it’s supported by advertising. When it launches this month, it’ll be available on Freeview and all Sky TV devices, including Sky Q and Sky+ HD — the two remaining options that still require a satellite dish to function, Sky Stream, and Sky Glass.
However, Freesat viewers will miss out on the launch on March 20, 2024. Earlier this year, Narrative Entertainment pulled six channels from Freesat set-top boxes almost overnight. This included Great! TV, Great! TV+1, Great! Action, Great! Movies, Great! Romance, and Great! Romance +1.
Despite the scaling back of efforts on Freesat, Narrative Entertainment has gone from strength to strength on Freeview, Virgin Media, and Sky platforms.
After making its complete selectionof linear channels available nationwide in July last year, the company also launched an on-demand service, known as Great! Player. This is available on the red button on certain boxes.
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Speaking about the incoming arrival of Great! Real, Narrative Entertainment’s VP Movies & Entertainment Steve Hornsey said: “Narrative Entertainment is excited to invite even more new viewers to enjoy our growing Great! Network with the addition of Great! Real, our first channel dedicated to non-scripted storytelling.
“With an array of observational series focusing on dramatic real-life events and human stories, Great! Real will take audiences to the heart of the action with an exciting, engaging and relatable content mix that perfectly complements our existing brands.”
When Great! Real launches, it'll join the line-up below...
- Great! Movies — Ad-supported film channel shows nothing but free-to-air blockbusters, including contemporary hits, cult classics, and feature film favourites
- Great! Action — As the name suggests, this movie channel is ready for a fight with a catalogue stocked with action blockbusters from past and present
- Great! Romance — Again, it does what it says on the tin. This movie channel is dedicated to great romances and hilarious rom-com
- Great! TV — This one describes itself as “the champagne and shoulder pads channel” because of its mix of drama and entertainment, with a regular rotation of scripted television series, nostalgic and current gameshows
All of these channels are available to watch on Freeview, Sky, and Virgin Media TV boxes, as well as the on-demand Great! Player service online.