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Top Up TV

From Alfawiki
Top Up TV
Company typePrivate
IndustryTelevision broadcasting
FoundedMarch 2004; 22 years ago (2004-03)
FounderDavid Chance, Ian West
FateService discontinued and customer accounts transferred to Sky
Headquarters
United Kingdom
Area served
United Kingdom
Key people
David Chance (Chairman), Nick Markham (CEO), Ian West (Co-founder)
ProductsSubscription-based television service, TV Favourites, PictureBox Movies

Top Up TV was a subscription-based television service in the United Kingdom that launched in March 2004 on the digital terrestrial television (DTT) platform. Its primary goal was to supplement Freeview by offering encrypted channels that were otherwise inaccessible to standard viewers.

The platform featured programming from multiple providers, including 'TV Favourites' and budget-friendly films supplied by NBCUniversal through PictureBox Movies, all accessible on demand. It also formerly carried live premium sports channels such as ESPN, Sky Sports 1, and Sky Sports 2. Viewing required compatible hardware equipped with a built-in CAM slot, such as a DVB-T receiver, recorder, or integrated digital television. By mid-2013, the subscriber base had grown to approximately 200,000 users.

Top Up TV discontinued its broadcast operations towards the end of 2013 and transferred its customer accounts to Sky.

History

The company was established by ex-BSkyB executives David Chance and Ian West, with Chance serving as chairman and Nick Markham appointed CEO. Ownership included a 20% stake held by Channel 5. In 2006, the business underwent restructuring, resulting in the liquidation of the original entity under Members Voluntary Liquidation as Minds1. Reports from January 2007 indicated that Access Industries owner Len Blavatnik acquired a majority 70% share.

Financial statements for Top Up TV Europe S.a.r.l. in 2010 revealed expenses totaling €38 million, liabilities amounting to €23 million, and continuing losses of €21 million.

2004–06: Launch and formative period

Initially operating under the name Newincco 166 Ltd, Top Up TV participated in the 2002 bidding process for the DTT multiplex D licence as part of the Digital Terrestrial Alliance (DTA), alongside Carlton, Granada, and Channel 4. Their proposal envisioned a "lite-pay" model combining primarily free-to-air channels with selected pay-TV content. However, the licence was ultimately granted to a consortium comprising the BBC, BSkyB, and Crown Castle (which later became National Grid Wireless).

Following this, Top Up TV collaborated with public broadcasters Channel 5 and Channel 4 to secure platform capacity. The company obtained four long-term streams on multiplex A and an additional short-term stream on multiplex 2. Through time-sharing techniques, it managed to broadcast ten pay-TV channels within five streams—some of which were later allocated to ABC1 and Teachers' TV. A sixth stream was dedicated to pay-per-view services such as Xtraview and Red Hot TV.

Unlike ITV Digital's earlier focus on premium content before its collapse in 2002, Top Up TV concentrated less on high-end offerings. By 2005, it operated eleven timeshared channels but subsequently reduced this overnight to two main package channels in order to make room for adult entertainment services.

From its inception in 2004, promotional content featuring Alice Beer was aired on channel placeholders and the Top Up TV Sampler channel. The initial channel lineup comprised UKTV Gold, UKTV Style, UKTV Food, Discovery Channel, Discovery Home & Leisure (later rebranded as Discovery Real Time), Turner Classic Movies (TCM), E4 (until May 2005), Bloomberg Television, Cartoon Network, and Boomerang. British Eurosport replaced E4 in June 2005; Toonami was also added to the roster.

The company faced losses amounting to £7 million during its first year of operation. The break-even point was estimated at around 250,000 subscribers—significantly lower than the anticipated target of 650,000—due largely to evolving market conditions and competition from Sky and cable operators.

Additional services included Xtraview, which provided daily access to certain channels but was eventually discontinued when Channel 4 reclaimed its multiplex stream; it was temporarily substituted by Top Up TV Pay As You Go. Top Up TV Active offered interactive advertising on channel 107 and included an audio-based quiz feature.

In August 2005, Setanta Sports utilized Top Up TV’s Xtraview technology to deliver live pay-per-view coverage of Scottish Premier League matches initially restricted to Scotland but later extended across the UK.

By February 2007, most live broadcast channels had been phased out in favor of push video-on-demand services as part of a transition away from the original channel package; however, premium sports content continued to be transmitted live. The Xtraview access control system remained operational for TelevisionX.

2006–13: Premium Sports and On-Demand Developments

On 30 August 2006, Top Up TV introduced Top Up TV Anytime, a service requiring a digital terrestrial television recorder to access encrypted and on-demand channels. The original offering was mostly discontinued, leaving only two live non-sports channels, Gold and Home, operational. Several channels from the initial lineup either shut down or reduced their broadcast hours before being fully supplanted by on-demand content such as Living and Disney Channel. Additionally, in October 2006, PictureBox Movies launched as a premium movie add-on.

That same year, Inview Technology rolled out the world's first push-VOD solution specifically for Top Up TV.

On 11 February 2007, pay-per-view Scottish Premier League matches were discontinued by Top Up TV, with Setanta Sports becoming available through a separate subscription; however, Setanta ceased operations in June 2009 due to insolvency.

By 2009, Top Up TV Anytime was rebranded as TV Favourites, integrating PictureBox and introducing ESPN either as part of viewing bundles or as a standalone channel. On 2 August 2010, Sky Sports 1 and Sky Sports 2 were added to the Top Up TV lineup.

Initially, TV Favourites content was delivered via four separate streams; this number gradually decreased with the fourth stream ending on 11 January 2010 and the third following approximately ten months later. The primary stream ("Top Up TV Anytime 1") shared broadcast time with ESPN, while the second stream ("Top Up TV Anytime 3") timeshared with Home, Gold, and Television X.

2013: Termination of Sports Content and Service Closure

In June 2013, following BT Sport’s acquisition of ESPN and the announcement that Sky Sports 1 & 2 would be removed from digital terrestrial television (DTT), Top Up TV informed its customers that premium sports packages would be discontinued. Sky Sports 1 & 2 were withdrawn on 1 July, followed by ESPN on 1 August.

By September, subscribers to TV Favourites and PictureBox were notified that these services would cease transmission on 31 October 2013, with subscriptions terminating automatically. The hardware remained operable as Freeview receivers, resolving any ambiguity regarding Top Up TV's future.

On 31 October, Top Up TV confirmed it had stopped broadcasting altogether. The subscriber list was transferred to Sky, which offered discounts up to 50% for new customers subscribing through Top Up TV. Until June 2015, Top Up TV continued to manage conditional access on Freeview utilized by BT for delivering BT Sport channels.

TV Favourites

Initially launched in December 2006 under the name Top Up TV Anytime, this service provided video on demand content from multiple broadcasters. In 2009, it was renamed TV Favourites to better represent its focus on integrated on-demand programming rather than earlier linear services. Access was restricted to users with a Top Up TV DVB-T DVR set-top box, with content reachable via the dedicated Top Up TV button on the remote control or through the electronic programme guide (EPG). Over time, channels such as Living and Home were replaced by offerings from broadcasters including BBC, Warner Bros. Television, and The Walt Disney Company. The EPG channel icons transitioned from individual logos to a standardized genre-based list.

Content providers included:

Comedy/Drama

Factual

PictureBox

PictureBox was a film service delivering approximately 28 classic and budget-friendly movies each night to subscribers’ Top Up TV Freeview+ set-top boxes for a monthly subscription. The movie selection originated from the NBCUniversal catalogue, featuring seven titles accessible at any moment and updated daily. Introduced in October 2006, this was Top Up TV’s inaugural premium add-on and the first worldwide platform to offer this service alongside its television programme counterpart, TV Box.

Discontinued channels and services

Entertainment, factual, and comedy

News and sport

Film

Kids

ESPN

ESPN operated as a premium sports channel featuring Premier League football along with other sporting events, accessible via monthly subscription. Viewing required a conditional-access module (CAM), a set-top box with a CAM slot, an IDTV equipped with a slot, or a Top Up TV Freeview+ box. It took over from Setanta Sports 1 after the latter’s parent company entered administration. Due to time-sharing arrangements with TV Favourites downloads, ESPN was unable to provide round-the-clock broadcasting. During the interval between Setanta’s closure and ESPN’s commencement, ESPN America occupied airtime amid carriage negotiations. The channel continues to be offered through BT TV as part of the BT Sport package.

Sky Sports

From 2 August 2010, Sky Sports 1 and 2 became available following Ofcom’s pay-TV review, which required BSkyB to wholesale these channels to rival providers. BT acquired capacity to supply these channels to BT Vision customers, with Top Up TV launching them simultaneously. Starting October 2011, Top Up TV offered Sky Sports 1 & 2 along with ESPN via CAMs compatible with CI+ IDTVs and set-top boxes.

Equipment

Top Up TV services were compatible with a range of devices. Its Freeview+ digital television recorders (DTRs) supported the full suite of offerings, while Conditional Access Modules (CAMs) provided access specifically to ESPN. Subscriptions to Sky Sports and ESPN were enabled through CI+ CAMs paired with approved set-top boxes. Access to customer services was controlled via a viewing smartcard. Beginning in 2008, Top Up TV adopted the Nagravision Merlin encryption system, replacing the earlier MediaGuard SECA2 technology from the ITV Digital period. All set-top boxes and DTRs included electronic programme guides (EPGs) with a minimum of eight days’ scheduling, consistent with standard Freeview specifications.

Top Up TV Freeview+ box (DTR)

The Top Up TV Freeview+ DTRs were designed to automatically capture overnight broadcasts for on-demand playback. The initial Thomson DTI 6300-16 model featured a 160GB hard drive, while subsequent versions such as the Thomson DTI 6300–25 expanded storage capacity to 250GB. Additional devices from manufacturers including Luxor, Bush, Sharp, Wharfdale, and later Thomson models offered storage ranging from 160GB up to 500GB, distributed through retailers like Argos and ASDA.

Each package contained a custom remote control, SCART cable, signal enhancement kit, RF lead, power supply cable, welcome documentation, remote control code guide, and user manual. The rear panel of the box was equipped with two SCART connectors, twin tuners, S-Video output, analogue phono connectors, and digital audio output. A powered USB port was present on either the front or rear panel but remained inactive.

Set-top box (STB)

Initially, Top Up TV utilized set-top boxes featuring viewing card slots to provide a linear pay television service. This began with repurposed ITV Digital hardware before transitioning to purpose-built "Top Up TV Ready" models. As consumer preference shifted towards on-demand content, live channel airtime was gradually reduced until it was discontinued.

All "Top Up TV Ready" set-top boxes equipped with card slots ultimately supported only ESPN. Following BSkyB’s introduction of Sky Sports in 2010, viewing smartcards had to be paired with specific set-top boxes. While Top Up TV Freeview+ DTRs accommodated this pairing through the CAN number system, most other devices required explicit approval from Top Up TV. Approved units included the i-CAN Freeview HD Box, Top Up TV T215, and Sagem IDT68/IDT72.

Conditional-access module (CAM)

Top Up TV provided a branded conditional-access module compatible with CI slots on modern IDTV sets; however, due to BSkyB’s security restrictions, access was limited exclusively to ESPN content, with Sky Sports 1 and 2 blocked.

To overcome these limitations and enable access to both Sky Sports and ESPN from August 2011 onward, CI+ CAMs were developed. Their release faced delays as Top Up TV worked to identify compatible hardware models. These enhanced CAMs finally became available in October 2011.

External links

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