Universal Channel logo | |
| Country | Greece |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Greece,Cyprus |
| Headquarters | London,United Kingdom |
| Programming | |
| Languages | Greek (only the advertisements) English (with Greek subtitles) |
| Picture format | 4:3 (576i,SDTV) |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | NBCUniversal |
| History | |
| Launched | 7 May 2009 (2009-05-07) |
| Closed | 31 May 2012 (2012-05-31) (Greece) 31 March 2013 (2013-03-31) (Cyprus) |
| Replaced by | Village Cinema (Greece) Sundance TV (Cyprus) |
| Links | |
| Website | universalchannel.gr (not available) |
Universal Channel was a Greek television network, owned byUniversal Networks International, a division ofNBCUniversal. It debuted inGreece on May 7, 2009, exclusively onConn-x TV, the pay-TV service ofOTE, one of the major telecommunication groups in Southeastern Europe.[1][note 1] Later, the channel broadcast inCyprus viaPrimeTel, Cablenet and CytaVision. The Channel hosted the branded blockSci Fi, the brand dedicated to science fiction, horror, fantasy and paranormal of NBCUniversal. Sci-Fi aired every Saturday from 9 PM to 1:10 AM and every Sunday starting from around 4 to 9 PM.
Universal Channel Greece broadcast TV series and movies produced byUniversal Pictures,20th Century Fox andCBS.[2] It has aired many series for first time on Greek TV, such asParenthood,Nurse Jackie,Flashpoint andHaven, while the Sci Fi block aired among the othersEureka,Sanctuary and non-fiction shows likeFact or Faked: Paranormal Files andDestination Truth.
Universal Channel (Greece) aired exclusive Universal Networks International series, for the first time on Greek TV, such asRookie Blue andFairly Legal. The network also showed manyHollywoodblockbusters of various genre such asThe Blues Brothers,Twelve Monkeys,Bridget Jones's Diary,Bean,Carlito's Way,Waterworld,Pitch Black,Meet Joe Black,Shakespeare in Love,Twister,Eraser andThe Streets of Liberty City from 5 October 2008 to 1 October 2010.[3] Universal Channel (Greece) was received very well by its subscribers.
May 31, 2012,NBCUniversal ceased providingUniversal Channel toOTE TV and it was replaced byVillage Cinema. On March 31, 2013, this channel ceased broadcasting in Cyprus and was replaced bySundance TV.