Television in the Island of Sally

Television in the Island of Sally started in November 1997 with SBC1, SBC2, SBC English and SBC Français. Channel 4 for the west and Regal Channel (unrelated to RTV) for the east both launched in 2002. Digital television started in October 2002 in most major cities and December 2002 in the countryside and minor cities.

Schools programming was introduced in May 2005 on Channel 4 and Regal Channel.

The first foreign channel in the Island of Sally that was not shared with the rest of the Nuclear Islands was Nickelodeon, which launched in October 1999.

Analogue switchoff is planned in 2020.

It is illegal for a show to be cancelled due to low ratings because “Cancelling a show with low ratings is not letting it flourish”.

16:9/HD switch
Most channels are still 4:3 or 14:9 SD. There are only ten HD channels out of the 1,528 TV channels in the Island of Sally, most of which are owned by the BBC. In 2004, widescreen commercials were required to be aired instead of 4:3 commercials, but this did not affect the widescreen switch.