Sky One to rebrand as ‘Sky Showcase,’ launch additional service

Sky One, the oldest non-terrestrial TV channel in the United Kingdom, is retiring the numerical based name and is rebranding to Sky Showcase come September 2021.

Sky Showcase will become home to the network’s “top curated shows,” according to a report the network’s news division published about the change. 

It will continue to be available on Channel 106 on the pay satellite service.

The name change takes effect Sept. 1, 2021 and the newly rebranded channel will feature content from across the media company’s portfolio. 

In addition to the Showcase launch, Sky is also adding Sky Max, which will be both a linear and on demand channel and service. It will focus on what the network calls “blockbuster entertainment” with existing titles such as “COBRA Cyberwar,” “The Flight Attendant” and “A League of Their Own.”

Sky Max will not overlap with the existing Sky Atlantic service.

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Sky Max is similar to the name HBO Max, the streaming service WarnerMedia has launched in the U.S. and Central America. Sky has a content deal with WarnerMedia that expires in 2025.

WarnerMedia has said it doesn’t plan to launch HBO Max in the U.K. until after that agreement either expires or is renegotiated. 

Sky’s news service, meanwhile, will remain active. It recently underwent a rebranding effort of its own that included a logo update and new graphics. 

Sky Showcase and Sky Max are following the branding scheme of using the familiar Sky logotype and rectangle with rounded corners and all lowercase type in a proprietary typeface. 

What’s a bit different is that, in the case of Showcase, the lettering is filled in with a gradient. A similar gradient is used as the background of the “Max” logo designs released July 25, 2021, with the lettering in white.