- Ideal World
-
This article is about shopping channel. For the Chinese manhua, see An Ideal World.
Ideal World 
Launched 16 April 2000 Owned by Ideal Shopping Direct Ltd Picture format 576i (SDTV) Country United Kingdom Sister channel(s) Ideal Extra,
Ideal & More,
Create and CraftWebsite idealworld.tv Availability Terrestrial Freeview Channel 22 (Ideal World)
Channel 36 (Create and Craft)Satellite Sky Channel 644 (Ideal World)
Channel 651 (Ideal Extra)
Channel 668 (Ideal & More)
Channel 671 (Create and Craft)Freesat Channel 810 (Ideal Extra)
Channel 812 (Ideal World)
Channel 813 (Create and Craft)Cable Virgin Media Channel 747 (Ideal World) Internet television TVCatchup Watch live (UK only) (Ideal World) Ideal World is a shopping channel in the UK whose sister shopping channels include Create and Craft, Ideal Extra and Ideal & More. It is owned by Ideal Shopping Direct Plc.[1] Their sister health and beauty channel, Vitality, closed early in 2008. Ideal Shopping Direct also sell plants and flowers through Garden Bargains.com and pet and wildlife care via Animal Bargains.com. The channel broadcasts from its studios in Peterborough. Ideal World currently broadcasts live 17 hours a day, with Create and Craft live 9 hours a day.
Contents
History
Founded in the 1980s as a mail order company selling products via national press adverts and consumer exhibitions, the company was then called Wrightway Marketing and was run by Paul Wright and his business partner Val Kaye. The company later produced its own catalogues, inserted into the Daily Mail, and sold at the Ideal Home exhibition.
In 1999, land was bought in Peterborough with a view to building premises to serve as live TV studios, offices, warehouse, and call centre. Ideal World was launched on 17 April 2000 on digital satellite broadcasting 24 hours a day. A pre-launch documentary was recorded by a documentary team from Channel 4, charting the channel's launch onto Sky and featuring the main management of the time and the Presentation team of Paul Lavers, Debbie Flint and Steve Whatley, and was called "Telly Sales".
Ideal's motto of "Family, Friendship and Fun" that was used to launch the TV channel, and is still used to this day, was personified by the on-screen behaviour of its presenting team. Broadcasting live for just a few hours a day at Launch, the less authoritative and more casual look, feel and style of the channel was well received by the viewing public. At a time when QVC still had very little competition except for the Infomercials, this much more relaxed, warmer and friendlier style of traditional TV shopping appealed to many, and has now precipitated down into the other offerings that launch later, such as bid-up.tv (now bid tv) and its sister channels. As well as the Launch team, the viewership was introduced to stalwart presenters Shaun Ryan and Ellis Ward (of You Bet fame), as well as some other familiar presenters and guests from elsewhere in Shopping TV. The chanel also featured Ali Paton, better known as Siren from ITV's 'Gladiators' series.
On 6 March 2001, the facility at Peterborough was completely destroyed by fire. The channel was back broadcasting within from weeks from various temporary facilities while the main building was rebuilt. The main building was not fully operational until September 2002. Ideal World has not disclosed whether a cause was found for the fire.
As the television side of the business re-grew, sales in the catalogue business slowed down and became insignificant in their contribution to the company, and the catalogue business was wound down in order to fully concentrate on selling on TV. A catalogue-style website, Ideal World Essentials, was produced for a short time featuring essential products for the home; this has since been closed and now links back to Ideal World itself.
The Create and Craft Logo
On 18 April 2003, Create and Craft was launched with the website following on 23 August 2003. It is now possible to Join the Create and Craft Club to receive discounts on spends at the site, amongst other benefits and privileges.
1 January 2004 saw the launch of Ideal Vitality. This was originally a channel from Goldshield, "Goldshield Vitality", for which Ideal Shopping Direct provided the studio recording and broadcast facilities, however by the end of 2005 Goldshield pulled out of the venture. Ideal Shopping then broadcast a similar channel focusing on health and beauty products from Ideal's range, under the 'Vitality' name. Ideal Vitality was then wound down and replaced with highlights from past Ideal World shows 24-7, the channel being renamed on the Sky EPG as "Ideal World 2". "Ideal World 3", then followed, repeating Ideal World 2 shows.
Although pre-recorded in the vast majority, Create and Craft now offers live programming 9 hours a day, every day.
On 23 April 2004, Ideal World began broadcasting on Freeview channel 22 which massively increased its potential customer base and drove business growth in the next couple of years, and meaning that come digital switch-over, any home with a TV will be able to tune into Ideal World and purchase products.
Jewellery Vault, a falling-auction style jewellery channel was launched on 1 July 2005 broadcasting live 5pm-1am and subsequently closed in July 2006 due to it not covering its operating costs.
On 3 November 2007, the Ideal World Outlet in the Rivergate Centre, Peterborough, was opened by Shaun Ryan and Debbie Shore. Ideal World Outlet was Ideal's first 'traditional' shop, where end-of-line items and customer returns are sold at further discounts. It later closed down.
Other projects that have featured in recent years are: iChild, a subscription club for expectant mothers with advice and relevant products; Ideal World Essentials, an online 'turning page' catalogue from which popular and new Ideal Shopping products could be purchased at any time, and Ideal World Savings Club, a voucher booklet for popular venues across the UK such as pizza restaurants, wine bars etc. All of these ventures have now closed.
Early in 2008, Ideal World also agreed to re-broadcast Smart Live Casino in its early morning hours, from 1am to 3am, on its Freeview Slot, to allow the Roulette broadcaster access to the Freeview audience. This agreement has now ended and instead, Ideal World is closed between midnight and 5am on Freeview, in order to allow 'Babestation' to broadcast its services on a separate channel.
On 3 March 2010, 'Ideal World 2' was renamed 'Ideal Extra' and 'Ideal World 3' was renamed 'Ideal & More'. On the same day, 'Ideal Extra' launched on Freeview until on 1 June 2010. On 14 October 2010, 'Ideal Extra' launched on Freesat channel 810.
In January 2010, Ideal Shopping acquired Lead the Good Life, under which they run gardenbargains.com website. In September 2010, the company launched Pets and Wildlife Ltd, under which they run two transactional websites, lovepets.co.uk (formerly animalbargains.com) and britishwildlife.tv
The channel has been featured in the BBC TV series The Apprentice.
Current Presenters
- Andy Love
- Dave Bradford
- Dawn Bibby
- Dean Wilson
- Debbie Shore
- Dennice Robinson
- Ellis Ward
- Howard Griffiths
- Joanne Puttrich
- Leoni Pujol
- Loen Love
- Lottie Mayor
- Martyn Parker
- Nigel May
- Shaun Ryan
Former Presenters
- Abby Surgeon
- Alan Gear
- Anthony Heywood
- Barry Freestone
- Carla Laszlo
- Carmel O'Sullivan
- Caroline Lyndsay
- Chloe Marshall
- Christopher French
- Debbie Flint
- Gary Ashburn
- Gema Ensenat
- Ian Gardner
- Jenny Pickering
- Karen Witchalls
- Kate Amos
- Lori Leland (USA)
- Mark Goodwin
- Nikki Vincent
- Paul Lavers
- Rachel Harvey Jones
- Simon Biagi
- Stephanie Weightman (Craft)
- Steve Whatley
- Trevor Blackman
- Victoria Showers
References
- ^ "Licence details for Ideal World". Ofcom. http://www.ofcom.org.uk/static/tvlicensing/dtt/947.htm. Retrieved 2007-06-06.
External links
Categories:- Television channels in the United Kingdom
- Television channels and stations established in 2000
- Shopping networks
- Companies based in Peterborough
- Companies based in Cambridgeshire
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
