A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | CH | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9
 Official logo for branding and merchandise | |
| Broadcast area | United Kingdom, Ireland |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Watford, Hertfordshire, England |
| Programming | |
| Language(s) | British English |
| Picture format | |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Talking Pictures TV Ltd |
| History | |
| Launched | 26 May 2015[2] |
| Links | |
| Website | TalkingPicturesTV.co.uk |
| Availability | |
| Terrestrial | |
| Freeview UK | Channel 82[1] |
| Freesat | Channel 306<"Freesat Channels". Freesat. 30 April 2024. Retrieved 30 April 2024.> |
| Streaming media | |
| Freely | Channel 36<"Freely TV Guide". Freely. 30 April 2024. Retrieved 30 April 2024.> |
Talking Pictures TV (TPTV) is a British free-to-air vintage film and nostalgia television channel. It was launched on 26 May 2015 on Sky channel 343,[Note 1][2] but later also became available on Freeview, Freesat, and Virgin Media. It is on air for 24 hours a day and features mainly older British films, both classics and B-films,[4] but the schedule also includes some American films, straight-to-video programmes, cinema shorts, extended interviews with veteran actors, and period home movies of British locations.
In July 2018, Talking Pictures TV had an audience share of 0.50%. As of 2019[update], it had reached an audience share of 0.63%.[5]
Foundation
TPTV is a family business, founded by producer/editor Noel Cronin, and run by his daughter Sarah Cronin-Stanley with her husband Neill Stanley.[4] Films in many genres (horror, comedy, drama and thriller) are included in the schedule. In-house productions are also shown, as are items from the Cronins' own back catalogue,[6] including Noel's Dandelion Distribution, as well as series from the archive of Southern Television, a former ITV contractor, and early American television shows. Movies are usually copied directly from film reels; damaged reels from the catalogue are often replaced by donations, either from online, viewers or available libraries.[7]
One of the aims of the founders was to maintain the history of British cinema; it was said to have been in the making since 2007.[8] Older movies, including those made in black and white, were once regularly shown on terrestrial channels, such as BBC and Channel 4,[7] but such programming had declined by the 2000s, with only the best known classic films occasionally being aired. Cronin-Stanley explained to the Watford Observer in 2016 that "People were interested in the big titles but he wanted to save the smaller, more obscure titles, from getting lost".[6] However, television networks rejected their pitches, unconvinced that it would be of high demand,[7] so they decided to set up the channel independently.[6] Cronin-Stanley later explained that the channel specialises in "the things people have forgotten".[9]
Availability
Talking Pictures TV was initially only available via digital satellite on the Sky platform in the United Kingdom and Ireland.[2] Since 15 September 2015, the channel has also been available on Freeview. It became available on Freesat channel 306 in February 2016,[1] and on Virgin Media on 1 June 2017. On Freeview, it was initially broadcast only in standard definition (SDTV) on a HD multiplex and could be received only by Freeview HD equipment.[1] From 30 November 2017, the channel became available, to those within coverage (90 per cent of UK households), on any TV capable of receiving Freeview.[10] In 2018, the channel reportedly had a weekly audience of about 2 million,[11] but BBC News reported that it possibly rose to as high as 6 million in mid-2020 (during the COVID-19 pandemic).[12]
Broadcast output
Films
A list of selected films shown on Talking Pictures TV:
