UKTV G2

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UKTV G2
Launched	October 1998
Owned by	UKTV (BBC/Flextech)
Audience share	0.4% (0.0% for +1) (November '06, Source:[1])
Formerly called	UKG2 (until March 2004) UK Gold 2 (until November 2003) UK Gold Classics (until April 1999)
Timeshift service	UKTV G2 +1
Website	www.uktvg2.co.uk
Availability
Satellite
Sky Digital	Channel 111 Channel 169 (+1)
Cable
NTL	Channel 126 Channel 127 (+1)
Telewest	Channel 125 Channel 127 (+1)

UK Gold Classics was launched when UK Gold began to move towards newer programmes instead of older ones. From 2 April 1999 it was renamed to UK Gold 2, and screened morning programmes from UK Gold time-shifted to the evening of the same day. It was again relaunched with a completely new programme lineup and renamed UKG² on November 12, 2003. Along with the rest of the UKTV network, the "UK" prefix was changed to "UKTV" on 8 March 2004 and is thus now known as UKTV G2. The continuity announcers have been known to make fun of the extreme length of the full name saying "it's for watching rather than saying", "more laughs then letters in it's name" or "more letters than Postman Pat".

The channel is available on Satellite (BSkyB) and Cable platforms. On 1 November 2004 a timeshift service with the even more cumbersome name of UKTV G2+1 launched on the Telewest and Sky Digital platforms.

The output of the channel is mainly comedy from the BBC with some shows produced in house. A fair amount is similar to the comedy output of UK Play/Play UK before that channel's closure.

Some shows available on UKTV G2 are Top Gear, Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps, Parkinson, Friday Night with Jonathan Ross, Room 101, QI, and Little Britain.

In February 2006, UKTV G2 picked up the rights to show highlights of the RBS Six Nations rugby union championship, with a highlights show broadcast on the evening of the games previously shown live on the BBC. On March 16, 2006, UKTV G2 announced a deal to air extensive coverage of the 2006 FIFA World Cup as a sublicensing of the BBC's rights to the tournament. [2] UKTV G2 simulcasted the BBC's live matches, including the opening match between Germany and Costa Rica, England's game with Paraguay and the final. The channel also showed highlights of every match in the tournament.