Sneak Prevue
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 Sneak Prevue's last ident from 1999 to closure. | |
| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Nationwide |
| Programming | |
| Language | English |
| Picture format | 480i (SDTV) |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Prevue Networks (United Video Satellite Group) (1991–1999) Gemstar-TV Guide International (1999–2002) |
| History | |
| Launched | 1991 |
| Closed | April 2002 |
Sneak Prevue was an American pay television network that served as a barker channel to provide previews of pay-per-view films and events to cable television providers. The channel launched in 1991 and existed until 2002.
Sneak Prevue launched in 1991 as a service for promoting pay-per-view services, providing viewers with a listing and showcase of the events and movies that were showing in the next 30 minutes, up to previews of coming films and events. It was originally owned by the Prevue Networks subsidiary of United Video Satellite Group, and was spun off from the television listings service Prevue Channel (which would become TVGN, and is now known as Pop). In 1999, when the Prevue Channel transformed into the TV Guide Channel, Sneak Prevue remained under its respective name and format.
Sneak Prevue was a separate channel in itself on many cable systems. However, on some smaller cable headends, Prevue Channel and Sneak Prevue shared the same channel space with Prevue Channel taking 35 minutes each hour and Sneak Prevue taking the remaining 25 minutes (usually at the bottom of each hour). This arrangement came at a time before digital cable was implemented years later.
On June 11, 1998, United Video Satellite Group purchased TV Guide from News Corporation for $800 million and 60 million shares of stock worth an additional $1.2 billion (this followed an earlier merger attempt between the two companies in 1996 that eventually fell apart).[1][2] This resulted in subsequent renaming of Prevue Channel to the TV Guide Channel on February 1. Following the purchase, a revamp of Sneak Prevue's software and on-air presentation was implemented after February 1, 1999, or whenever cable companies upgraded their equipment for TVGC's new presentation mode.
On October 5, 1999, Gemstar International Group Ltd. purchased United Video Satellite Group, which was renamed Gemstar-TV Guide International; the two companies had previously been involved in a legal battle over the intellectual property rights for their respective interactive program guide systems, VCR Plus+ and TV Guide On Screen, that began in 1994.[3][4]
In December 1999, the new management planned another revamp for the network, with plans to rename the channel as Screen TV. These plans included more focus on other services from participating providers, such as digital cable and high-speed internet, and short-form programming relating to the types of programming seen on PPV, as well as celebrity interviews.[5] However, these plans were eventually scrapped for various reasons (including the move to digital cable, as well as the lack of customization providers carrying Screen TV would have had, in comparison to Sneak Prevue). The channel quietly ceased operations in April 2002 as its content was merged within the scrolling listings grid of parent network TV Guide Channel, including pricing and ordering information. This was most likely due to the fact that dominant pay-per-view provider In Demand provided its own barker channel, and as a result of other cable systems deciding to advertise their film lineups on their own. The ending also coincided with the discontinuation of Laserdisc production by Imation.[6][7]