The GREAT! Network of channels is to move to full national distribution on Freeview.
Owner Narrative Entertainment UK is also bringing back POP Max to Freeview, part of its POP network of children’s channels. The changes will be completed by Wednesday 19 July 2023.
GREAT! Christmas, the UK’s most popular seasonal channel, will also be distributed nationally later this year.
Narrative acquired the Sony Pictures Television’s portfolio of premiere FTA broadcast television channels and their digital assets in May 2021.
The GREAT! Network comprises GREAT! movies, GREAT! action, GREAT! romance, GREAT! Christmas and GREAT! TV. Its grown its commercial impacts by 6% year on year against a declining market.
Steve Hornsey, VP Movies & Entertainment at Narrative Entertainment says: “The GREAT! network’s strong performance in the last year shows audiences love our trusted brands and curated content on TV. We’re very excited to be taking two more of our channels nationwide on Freeview so that even more viewers can spend time with the GREAT! Brands.”
November 2022 saw Narrative successfully launch into the FAST market with GREAT! movies and GREAT! romance channels, expanding its reach to a wider audience on Free platforms. Further expansion came in June 2023 with the launch of the GREAT! player on demand and catch-up service, available via red button across the GREAT! network channels, to meet the increasing demand of loyal and new viewers.