This is a timeline of the history of Sky One and its spin-off channels.
1980s
1980
Plans for a pan-European satellite television station are put together by Brian Haynes, back by backed by Guinness Mahon and Barclays Merchant Bank and in November Mr Haynes sets up Satellite Television Ltd. (SATV)
1981
21 October – SATV begins test transmissions on the Orbital Test Satellite after the European Space Agency allowed the company to test the satellite for the use of commercial television, with an hour of light entertainment in English each night. The low-powered satellite forces it to broadcast to cable systems rather than directly to individual satellite dishes.
1982
26 April – Satellite Television launches as a pan-European service. The channel is often referred to on-screen as Super Station Europe. However the channel is initially only available in some European countries, with Norway and Finland being the first two countries to permit the new service's transmission via cable, followed by Malta, Switzerland and West Germany.
1983
27 June – News International becomes the majority shareholder of Satellite Television. broadcast hours are extended and the channel starts to be seen in more countries. 16 October – Satellite Television begins broadcasting in the UK.
1984
16 January – Satellite Television is renamed Sky Channel. It also sees the first programmes commissioned for the channel although they mainly consist of children’s and music programming.
1985
20 July – Sky Channel launches a weekend morning children’s programming block called Fun Factory.
1986
1 September – The DJ Kat Show launches as a weekday children's programming block. It airs at breakfast and in the late afternoons.
1987
No events.
1988
8 June – Rupert Murdoch announces plans to launch a four-channel service on the soon to be launched Astra satellite. One of the four channels will be Sky Channel.
1989
5 February – Sky Television launches at 6.00pm. The channel line-up consists of Sky Channel, Sky News, Sky Movies and Eurosport. 31 July – Sky Channel becomes a UK and Ireland-only service and is renamed Sky One although for a short time after the relaunch, some of Sky Channel's former pan-European programming is broadcast in the hours before Eurosport's startup, and the programme block is branded as Sky Europe. Sky steps up its original content when it begins commissioning programming beyond music and children's shows. Content includes a morning show Sky by Day, current affairs series Frank Bough's World and Jameson Tonight and new game shows, including revivals of Blockbusters, The Price Is Right and Sale of the Century.
1990s
1990
January–March – Sky One shows live coverage of England's cricketing tour to the West Indies. This is the first time that full live coverage of an overseas tour has been shown in the UK. 2 September – Sky One begins airing the American animated series The Simpsons as part of a strategy of showing more recent programming. 2 November – Sky TV and BSB merge. The new company is called BSkyB. 30 November – The final edition of Sky by Day is broadcast. 2 December – Sky One launches on the Marcopolo satellite. It replaces BSB's entertainment channel Galaxy.
1991
No events.
1992
31 December – Sky One stops broadcasting via the Marcopolo satellite.
1993
1 September – Sky Multichannels launches and consequently Sky One becomes a pay television channel.
1994
11 September – After nine years on air, the final edition of children’s programming block Fun Factory is broadcast. Sky One returns to commissioning music programmes when it starts their own music show The Coca Cola Hit Mix (also known as The Hit Mix). featuring music news and guests at the time. The show features regular competitions, phone ins with guests and other features.
1995
9 January – Sky One begins 24-hour broadcasting, filling the overnight hours with music videos under the name Hit Mix Long Play. 31 December – The children programming block The DJ Kat Show is axed after almost a decade on air due to low viewing figures.
1996
1 September – Sky 2 launches as an evening and overnight service and Sky One rebrands as Sky 1. October – Children's programming on Sky One is reduced following the launch of Fox Kids Network and most of the programmes shown on Sky One move to the new channel.
1997
31 August – Sky 2 stops broadcasting and Sky 1 reverts to being called Sky One. 14 October – The first episode of footballing drama series Dream Team is broadcast. It goes on to air for the next ten years.