Beloved real-life channel makes surprise TV comeback after sudden removal from Freeview and Sky
A TV channel filled with real-life programmes has made a surprise comeback after it was recently axed from the airwaves.
The channel was only a few months old before it was quietly dropped on Sky and Freeview.
GREAT! Real first launched in March as a destination for “genuine drama and authentic stories centred around real people and events”.
Among well-known shows, there was Heathrow: Britain’s Busiest Airport, Cops Uncut, Emergency Rescue: Air, Land and Sea, Police Ten 7, Coast Guard Alaska and Paddington Station 24/7.
But it shutdown in August, marking the return to terrestrial TV for Tiny POP, which is owned by the same company.
Well, now GREAT! Real is back – though it’s not available on Sky and Freeview as before.
Instead, it’ll be available on little-known platform Netgem TV.
Most people may not be aware of Netgem but it’s the platform used by a number of service providers, such as TalkTalk, Community Fibre and Connect Fibre.
Netgem TV has more than 130 streaming channels available to watch.
Streaming channels have grown in popularity in recent years as viewers look to cut down on bills for services like Netflix and Amazon in favour of free alternatives.
And some big names are jumping on board the idea too, like Sky and Channel 5.
The GREAT! Real re-appearance comes as part of an exclusive deal with Netgem TV, so don’t expect it to return to Freeview, Sky or any other service anytime soon.
The owners of GREAT! Real – Narrative Entertainment – routinely shuffles its offering.
At the moment, the company airs a GREAT! Christmas channel with nothing but Christmas TV shows and movies until January.
As part of its kids offering, there is the POP channels including POP, Tiny POP, POP Max and the latest addition POP Up which showcases different themes each week.
Sylvain Thevenot, Managing Director at Netgem UK, said: “This partnership highlights our strategy to deliver premium content through our growing high-quality FAST Streaming channels for operators adopting Netgem TV.”