Trouble (TV channel)

Trouble
Trouble logo
Launched	3 February 1997
Closed	1 April 2009
Owned by	Virgin Media Television Sky plc
Picture format	16:9, 576i (SDTV)
Website	www.trouble.co.uk
Availability (at time of closure)
Satellite
Sky Digital	Channel 172
Cable
Virgin Media	Channel 159
UPC Ireland	Channel 622 (ex-Chorus only)

Trouble was a television station in Ireland and the UK, owned by Virgin Media Television. It fully replaced The Children's Channel from 4 April 1998, prior to the start of Sky Digital.

Trouble had a key demographic of young adults and teenagers, aged between 13 and 39. The channel showed primarily American and Australian imports, with only a small margin of programmes being British. A website was launched called Trouble Homegrown that showcased British programmes.

Trouble's one hour timeshift channel named Trouble +1 (formerly Trouble Reload) closed on 5 February 2009 to make way for the launch of Living2 +1.

History

The idea of Trouble was originally influenced by the now-defunct The Children's Channel's late afternoon scheduling for teen audiences, branded "TCC". When Bravo was revamped in 1997 to become a channel targeting a male audience (marketed as "an altered species of television"), it broadcast only during the evenings and nights, with Trouble occupying its transponder space during the day. The Children's Channel ceased operations in 1998, leaving Trouble to target teens and young adults. Its schedule consisted of popular sitcoms, rather than the cartoons The Children's Channel originally aired.

Programmes

• All of Us
• Batman
• Beakman's World
• California Dreams
• Charmed
• City Guys
• The Cosby Show
• Cuts
• Cutting It
• Dawson's Creek
• Desmond's
• Diff'rent Strokes
• The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
• Earthworm Jim
• Eve
• Half & Half
• Hangin' with Mr. Cooper
• Hang Time
• Heartbreak High
• Hollyoaks
• In The House
• Home and Away
• How I Met Your Mother
• The Hughleys
• Kyle XY
• Making the Band
• Malcolm & Eddie
• Malibu, CA (TV series)
• Martin
• The Monkees
• My So-Called Life
• My Wife And Kids
• No Angels
• Odd Man Out
• One On One
• Pugwall
• The Parkers
• Saved by the Bell
• Saved by the Bell: The New Class
• The Secret Life of Us
• Singled Out
• The Steve Harvey Show
• Scene One
• The Sausage Factory
• Sweet Valley High
• Teachers
• The Trap Door
• That '70s Show
• Two Guys and a Girl
• USA High
• Veronica Mars
• Weird Science
• Zoe, Duncan, Jack and Jane

Closure

By 2003, Trouble had shifted its output from teen shows in its early days to family-oriented sitcoms such as My Wife and Kids, One On One, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, That '70s Show and Grounded for Life.

After The WB merged with UPN in 2006, their main sources of programming dried up, causing the channel ratings to decline. Trouble added new programmes including first run episodes of How I Met Your Mother and Kyle XY and classic comedies including The Cosby Show and Desmond’s but failed to address the decline of Virgin/Bravo team group.

On 17 March 2009, Virgin Media Television indicated it would close Trouble and replace it with a version of Living. The closure was blamed on declining viewing figures and that it was part of an operational review at Virgin Media Television (which included budget cuts at Challenge TV), which saw them being sold to BSkyB, Bravo and Virgin 1 (by then renamed Channel One), closed later after the Virgin sale.

It was then revealed that Trouble would close in April 2009 and would be replaced by Living +2 (since replaced by Living Loves). Trouble aired the voice over announcing about the last night before it ceased broadcasting on 1 April 2009 at 1.00am with the two-hour timeshift version of Living launching at 7am on the same day.

External links

• Trouble at TV Ark