Rewind TV is the latest channel to exploit the archives in a wave of nostalgic TV that’s sweeping across the airwaves.
- As channels that were originally set up as repeat channels morph into something different, new independent broadcasters are taking viewers back in time.
Ask an older person about TV and with their rose-tinted glasses, they’ll probably tell you how much better TV was in the olden days.
Now you can see for yourself, as Freeview welcomes another nostalgic TV channel to its line-up, catering for the free-to-air platform’s older-skewing audiences.
Rewind TV arrived on Freeview at lunchtime on Wednesday, with a number of classic ITV and Channel 4 shows from the last century headlining the channel.
Rewind joins original independent vintage TV channel Talking Pictures and a host of other channels showing nothing but archive TV.
Archive TV channels are nothing new. UK Gold and Granada Plus led the way in the 1990s. But many of the channels originally set up to exploit the archives have morphed into something different, show more recent programmes or have abandoned wall-to-wall repeats for original programming. Meanwhile, while UK Gold and Granada Plus were linked to established broadcasters and available on pay TV platforms, the next generation of archive TV operators operate independently of the big broadcasters and are free-to-air.
▶ Freeview’s nostalgic channels
Talking Pictures
(Freeview channel 82)
Launched nine years ago, making its name showcasing old black and white films not seen since BBC Two and Channel 4 stopped showing old movies in the afternoons. Its schedule now also includes classic series including Rumpole of the Bailey and Scotland Yard
That’s TV
(Freeview channels 56, 65 and 71)
Spread across three channels, That’s TV is an eclectic mix of vintage music, documentaries and entertainment shows. Schedules are more haphazard and are often only confirmed days before transmission. Currently, That’s TV is showing Goodnight Sweetheart, Steptoe and Son and Rising Damp. Newer shows (relatively speaking) are Little Britain, Life on Mars and Benidorm.
Rewind TV
(Freeview channel 95)
The newest of the nostalgic TV channels to join Freeview, Rewind TV’s schedules include classic entertainment each evening, older movies overnight and a strand of factual shows in the afternoon. Watch Surgical Spirit, Watching, Drop The Dead Donkey, The Prisoner and Judi Dench sitcom A Fine Romance on Rewind TV.
Challenge
(Freeview channel 48)
The quiz show was a staple of classic TV schedules. But you won’t find them on the above channels because Sky’s Challenge channel is still the exclusive home of much of ITV’s biggest quiz shows of yesterday. Look what you could’ve won on Bullseye, and have a go at the goldrun in Blockbusters.
BBC Four
(Freeview channel 9 [24 in Scotland])
A few years ago, the BBC announced its intention to convert BBC Four into an archive channel. That still hasn’t fully happened, with the channel’s schedules still occasionally reflecting its original arts and culture remit, with Young Musician and Proms performances screening on the channel. Look more closely for occasional visits to the BBC shiny floor shows of the 1980s, classic Wogan, repeats of classic BBC dramas and of course, classic Top Of The Pops each Friday night.
What happened to the original classic TV channels?
In the early days of satellite TV, the main broadcasters set up their own channels recycling classic dramas, soaps and films. The BBC and Thames Television jointly set up UK Gold. Meanwhile later in the 1990s, ITV’s North West station Granada launched Granada Plus.
Over the decades, UK Gold ultimately morphed into comedy channel Gold, with its sister channels in the UKTV network focusing on newer (post-2000) shows and original productions. Granada Plus made way for ITV3. While ITV3 is still the home of some older shows, its primetime schedule consists of mostly post-2000 shows, clearing the path for independent stations to hoover up older TV shows.
By: Marc Thornham