Sneak Prevue
 |
| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Prevue Networks/TV Guide |
Sneak Prevue was a pay-per-view preview cable barker channel in the 1990s. Sneak Prevue was a spin-off of the Prevue Channel (now TV Guide Network).
History
Sneak Prevue premiered in 1991 as a service for promoting pay-per-view services, providing viewers with a listing and showcase of the events and movies that were showing in the next 30 minutes to the next week. Like the Prevue Channel, Sneak Prevue was provided to cable and satellite companies for its customers. In 1999, when the Prevue Channel transformed in to the TV Guide Channel, Sneak Prevue remained under its respective name, and continued in its current format.
In April 2002, Sneak Prevue quietly went off the air, most likely due to dominant pay-per-view provider In Demand providing their own barker channel and other cable systems deciding to advertise their film lineups on their own.
Format
Like the Prevue Channel, Sneak Prevue was personalized for cable and satellite companies, featuring company logos with advertisements and listings.
Previews of movies and events were shortened trailers of the program provided regularly on laserdisc, and would feature information on the bottom of the screen and a date/time on the top left that would serve as a countdown to start time.
The main listings were featured behind a series of colorful backgrounds with the day's date on the top left, the time on the top right, the cable/satellite company's logo in the middle and listings of events below. There would also be music in the background, with an announcer promoting the channel and pay-per-view. Throughout its nearly 11 year tenure, many changes were made to the backgrounds and music.
Segments similar to Prevue Channel's included "Sneak Prevue Tonight", "Up Next", and "Premiering Soon". Often local cable provider's advertisements would be inserted on the channel, promoting their products and services.
Technical Difficulties
Sneak Prevue was known for (as well as the Prevue Channel) crashing periodically, often with a screen notifying viewers to stand by as they were having difficulties with the system. Additionally, the system would also freeze frequently. A black line would often run across the entire screen until finally the channel would return to normal.