Draft:Timeline of CSC Media Group

This is a timeline of CSC Media Group, a former television company that broadcast various television channels in the United Kingdom.

1990s

• 2002
  • 20 May: Chart Show Channels was founded.
  • 16 September: CSC's first television network Chart Show TV was launched on Sky Digital.
  • 14 October: Chart Shop TV, a music shopping network, launches on Sky Digital. It broadcast on Chart Show TV's bandwidth as a filler network from 4:00am-6:00am.
• 2003
  • 12 March: Chart Shop TV ceases operations. It's former bandwidth space on Chart Show TV's downtime was used to test launch a retro music channel called Video Vault, broadcasting from 3:00am-6:00am.
  • 30 May: CSC test-launches a children's music/cartoon channel under the name of Tunes&Tunes.
  • 16 July:
    • Tunes&Tunes is fully launched as Pop, broadcasting from 6:00am-8:00pm.
    • Video Vault fully launches as The Vault and moves to Pop's bandwidth, broadcasting from 8:00pm-6:00am.
  • 8 September: A sister channel to Pop - Pop Plus, launches on Sky Digital, broadcasting from 6:00am-8:00pm, the same as the main channel.
  • 17 September: The Vault moves out of Pop's bandwidth space and gains its own 24-hour slot on Sky.
  • September: Pop becomes an advertising-supported network.
• 2004
  • 8 July: CSC test launches a new music channel on Sky Digital - B4.
  • 12 July: B4 officially launches, broadcasting within Pop Plus' bandwidth from 8:00pm-6:00am.
  • 27 July: Pop Plus relaunches as Tiny Pop, allowing the main Pop network to focus more on older-skewing shows.

• 2005
  • November: CSC becomes one of the many companies bidding on a low-bandwidth, 18-hour-a-day stream on the UK's digital terrestrial television (DTT) system.
• 2006
  • 9 March: BSkyB announces to close The Amp and replace it with a new music channel named Bliss.
  • November - Flaunt, Scuzz and Bliss transition to become free-to-air channels, as with the rest of the CSC-owned networks. Shortly afterwards, CSC acquires full ownership in the three networks.
• 2007
  • 21 March: Chart Show Channels renames itself as the CSC Media Group.
  • 10 August - CSC's first timeshift services - Pop +1 and Tiny Pop +1, launch on Sky.
  • 11 October - Pop and Tiny Pop launch on Virgin Media's cable platform.
  • 6 November: Following a failure of an agreement to allow the channels to broadcast within the ex-Telewest areas as well as a major focus on its On-demand services, Virgin Media removes Flaunt, Scuzz and Bliss from its cable platform in ex-NTL areas.
• 2008
• 2009
• 2010
• 2011
  • 1 March: True Entertainment launches on Virgin Media. Pop is removed to make way for the bandwidth of the network.
• 2012
• 2013
• 2014

In 2007, they launched five channels; two of which were timeshift channels: Pop +1 and Tiny Pop +1. The third channel was a new children's channel called Pop Girl, aimed at a young female audience. The fourth channel was AnimeCentral, which time-shares with Pop Girl, and shows animated series for an older audience; it was the first dedicated channel in the UK for anime broadcasting. The fifth was Minx, which was a spin-off music channel from the Minx slot shown on Chart Show TV. Minx was later replaced by NME TV, which is a dedicated indie music channel.

In 2008, they rebranded B4 to Flava after showing a mix of R&B music for a few months prior to this in March. The channel also went 16:9 widescreen prior to the rebrand, to match the other CSC music channels. On Tuesday 6 May, they launched Flaunt +1, a 1-hour timeshifted version of Flaunt. This was their first-ever timeshifted music channel, and is also the second to launch in the UK, after MTV One +1 (now MTV +1) launched in February 2008, replacing MTV Flux. On Monday 12 May, six days after launching their first music timeshift, Bliss +1, their second music channel timeshift, was launched and their third music channel timeshift, Scuzz +1 launched in November 2008. It soon closed, and the satellite transponder space was then used by NHK World TV. On Monday 19 May, they launched their fourth kids channel, replacing Pop +1. Kix! kit started at 06:00 hours, showing a mixture of cartoons, extreme sports, as well as music, aimed for boys, similar to another kids channel, Jetix. Currently, it broadcasts from 06:00 to 23:30 daily. Pop Girl +1, a 1-hour timeshifted version of Pop Girl launched on Wednesday 4 June, replacing their first music channel timeshift, Flaunt +1, which had only been on air just short of four weeks. AnimeCentral has been replaced with Showcase TV on 27 August 2008, which simulcasts a mixture of channels such as Pop Girl, Chart Show TV, True Movies 2, along with AnimeCentral programming block with repeats of Cowboy Bebop and Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex.

CSC is the majority owner of Moving Movies Ltd.; with True Movies 1 being the first channel from the company, it launched on 8 April 2005 and was joined by True Movies 2 in March 2006. Both channels showed mainly made-for-TV movies from a range of genres, all based on real-life events and people.

They were announced as being one of the channel providers providing DVB-H channels in a 16 channel trial of the technology in Oxford, a system which would have carried Chart Show TV.

Like The Box Plus Network and All Around the World Productions channels, all of CSC's music channels now broadcast 24 hours a day.

In May 2012, CSC launched BuzMuzik, a new music television channel driven by mobile phone (text/mms) and social media.

In February 2013, CSC launched True Entertainment +1, a one-hour timeshift of True Entertainment. It was replaced by True Drama on 4 June 2013.

On 22 July 2013, Kix Power launched, replacing Pop Girl +1 on Sky. That was rebranded as Kix +1 on 1 October 2013, rebranded as Kix Power again on Christmas 2013 and Easter 2014; and was renamed Kix + on 22 April 2014. This timeshift was replaced with Pop +1 on 14 July 2014.

In late 2013, CSC purchased Starz TV, which was a sole channel by Cloud Television One Limited, following the collapse of Mushroom TV and the sale of Mushroom's all other channels to All Around the World Productions. In April 2014, CSC closed BuzMuzik, and replaced it with a revival of True Entertainment +1. The channel also closed for CSC to broadcast Starz TV.

On 26 June 2014, Sony Pictures Television, Sony's TV programming and network unit, said it would buy CSC and its 16 channels for £107 million ($180 million). The deal was completed on 15 August 2014. All the channels were transferred to Sony Pictures Television, and the company went dormant.