Sky may have a multitude of channels for people to watch, but one particularly won the hearts of many – though bosses have now decided the channel will be retired for good
One of Sky ‘s most beloved TV channels is being axed after over a decade.
Sky has been dominating satellite channels for decades, giving viewers a multitude of different shows to watch, raging from true crime dramas – which are often a big hit with viewers – to hobby shows, which Sky revealed one in four adults do after watching a show covering the topic. It also covers major sporting events – such as Formula 1, though interviews have been stunted after guests broke the station’s rules.
But while many viewers have the world of television at their feet, one channel has particularly won the hearts of children. However, despite this, the channel is set to be given the chop from the airwaves, beginning on Tuesday (April 22).
Sky are set to pull POP Max from all devices and platforms this week, including Sky Q, Sky Glass and Sky Stream. This is the latest viewing service to ditch the channel, after Freeview removed it from its own airwaves last year.
POP Max was first launched all the way back in 2008, with the name Kix, but was rebranded to POP in 2017. Now, the channel will be gone, with its counterpart Tiny Pop moving up in the channel listings for both its live and +1 services.
Sky announced the news on its website on Monday (April 21), triggering a wave of shock from fans, who were sad to see the channel bow out. One user took to the channel’s Youtube platform to mourn the inevitable loss of the stream: “End of an era with Kix and Pop Max.”
A second user was also sad to see the channel, but admitted that they were ultimately unfazed by the decision: “Can’t say I’m surprised though. Taking it off Freeview back in December was the final nail in the coffin.”
Some fans, however, remained surprised at Sky’s decision to pull the channel. “Didn’t see that one coming,” one user said.
A number of hit kids shows were shown on POP Max, including several animated programmes like Pokémon Ultimate Journeys: The Series and Droners. However, the loss of POP Max is yet another nail in the coffin for Sky channels, after a slew of channels were given the boot.
Back in February, Sky users – as well as those using Virgin Media – lost their ability to watch Eurosports coverage. This was due to the rights owners of the channel finding a more lucrative deal with the likes of TNT Sports and Disney+ instead.
Several other services are also ditching their unnecessary channels, including ITV. In recent weeks, the channel’s children content was moved off-air; CITV is now completely online – or available on their streaming service ITVX.
To add to the downsizing, ITV announced on Thursday (April 16) that it would also be scrapping its reality channel ITVBe after over a decade on the air. Initially launching in 2014, the channel was the home of big reality shows such as TOWIE and the Real Housewives series.
Instead, the channel is set to be given the axe, with the final broadcast set to take place sometime in June. The remaining shows on the service will then make their way o ITV2 in time for the autumn schedule.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
