View source for PremPlus

{{Redirect|Premplus|the estrogen medication with the same brand name|Conjugated estrogens}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2016}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2016}}
{{Infobox television channel
| name              = PremPlus
| logo              = Premplus.PNG
| logo_alt          = PremPlus logo
| launch_date       = 19 August 2001
| closed_date       = 6 May 2007
| replaced_by       = [[Primetime (TV channel)|Primetime]]
| owner             = [[BSkyB|British Sky Broadcasting]]
| former_names      = Premiership Plus (to 1 July 2004)
| website           = [http://www.sky.com/sports www.sky.com/sports]
| availability_note = <br />(at time of closure)
}}
'''PremPlus''' (originally '''Premiership Plus''') was [[Sky Sports]]' first and only [[pay-per-view]] channel which was dedicated to airing live and interactive football from the [[Premier League]]. The main presenter on PremPlus was Marcus Buckland with former [[Arsenal F.C.|Arsenal]] manager [[George Graham (footballer, born 1944)|George Graham]], providing punditry. [[Alan Parry]], [[Ian Darke]], [[Brian Marwood]] and [[Tony Cottee]] were the channel's regular commentators.

== History ==
Premiership Plus was launched on 19 August 2001, showing 40 pay-per-view matches from the [[Premier League]]. Matches could be purchased simply by telephone or, in later seasons, interactively through the TV, and a [[season ticket]] for all matches in a season was available at a substantial discount. Pre-match coverage was shown free to air, with the channel blacking out to non-paying viewers approximately five minutes prior to kick-off. The host would repeatedly exhort viewers during this time to purchase the match. The first match broadcast on the channel was [[Chelsea F.C.|Chelsea]] v [[Newcastle United F.C.|Newcastle United]], with matches usually kicking off at 2:00pm on Sundays, ahead of the live match that was being shown on Sky Sports later that afternoon.<ref>[http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=104016&p=irol-newsArticle_Print&ID=187690&highlight= Sky announce Premiership Plus Channel]{{dead link|date=March 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} Sky press release</ref> The name was used throughout the [[2001-02 FA Premier League|2001–02]], [[2002-03 FA Premier League|2002–03]] and [[2003-04 FA Premier League|2003–04]] seasons.

For the [[2004-05 FA Premier League|2004–05]] season, the channel's name was shortened to PremPlus. The channel also increased its matches from the season, showing 50 live PPV matches, with its regular broadcast slots changing to Saturdays, often now broadcasting two live matches in a day, with the first kicking off at 12:45pm, and the second at 5:15pm, though some matches were still shown at 2:00pm on Sundays on occasion.

2005 saw PremPlus 2 launch on the [[NTL Incorporated|NTL]] platform. It was a duplicate of the original aimed for capacity purposes.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://forums.digitalspy.com/discussion/comment/8073259#Comment_8073259 | title=Do you have PremPlus? - Page 3 | date=30 April 2006 }}</ref> PremPlus HD launched for the 2006-07 season on the [[Sky+ HD|Sky HD]] platform. It was an HD simulcast of the main channel.

After the 2006-07 football season ended, Sky decided to exit out of the PPV market and shuttered PremPlus down. PremPlus had failed to live up to Sky's expectations{{citation needed|date=May 2010}} as few British football fans were willing to pay for individual matches on top of paying a monthly subscription for other matches {{citation needed|date=May 2010}} and EU competition laws forcing Sky to break its monopoly on the Premier League, having broadcast 270 matches live and exclusive from the Premier League. The last ever game shown on the network was [[Aston Villa F.C.|Aston Villa]] v [[Sheffield United F.C.|Sheffield United]]. This marked the end, at least for the time being, of attempts to introduce pay-per-view into the British sports television market, outside of occasional [[combat sports]] ([[Professional Wrestling|wrestling]], [[boxing]], and [[mixed martial arts|MMA]]) events.
 
A week before the SD channel's closure, PremPlus HD was replaced with a temporary part-time network - Sky Sports HDX, which would broadcast sports content if HD1 or HD2 were already airing live content.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.broadbandtvnews.com/2007/05/01/bskyb-launches-third-hd-sports-channel/ | title=BSkyB launches third HD sports channel | date=May 2007 }}</ref> This channel soon ceased operations after fulfilling its temporary purpose.

===Sponsorship===
For its first two seasons (2001-02 and 2002-03), the channel was sponsored by the pension firm [[Royal London Group|Scottish Life]]. From the start of the 2003-04 season until the end of the 2005-06 season, the channel was sponsored by [[Bet365]] and for its final season, 2006-07, it was sponsored by [[Sky Betting & Gaming|Sky Bet]].

===Legacy===
In October 2020, with football fans unable to attend matches due to the [[COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom|COVID-19 pandemic]], Sky Sports and [[BT Sport]] were given the rights to broadcast football matches in the UK on their respective PPV channels, [[Sky Box Office|Sky Sports Box Office]] and [[BT Sport Box Office]] — additional matches that were not initially planned to be shown on TV.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.sky.com/story/premier-league-pay-per-view-plan-will-see-fans-have-to-pay-15-to-watch-some-games-in-october-12100282|title=Premier League pay-per-view plan will see fans have to pay £15 to watch some games in October|first=Martha|last=Kelner|work=Sky News|publisher=Sky UK|date=9 October 2020 |access-date=20 October 2020}}</ref>

== References==
{{reflist}}
{{Sky Ltd}}
{{Sky Sports}}
{{Media in the United Kingdom|television}}
{{Association football on television}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Premplus}}
[[Category:Sky Sports]]
[[Category:Pay-per-view television channels in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Premier League on television]]
[[Category:Defunct television channels in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Television channels and stations established in 2001]]
[[Category:Television channels and stations disestablished in 2007]]