BSkyB is launching a new entertainment channel, Sky Three, which will reach about 13 million households in the United Kingdom and Ireland.

Sky Three will be available to Sky satellite pay-TV subscribers, as well as being one of the channels on the Freeview digital terrestrial television platform. Sky Three will offer a mixed schedule that showcases programming from the Sky One library as well as original lifestyle commissions and travel documentaries from Sky Travel. Sky Three will replace Sky Travel on the Freeview service.

“The expansion of Sky’s portfolio of entertainment channels will allow us to deliver more value to customers and to exploit program rights more effectively,” Dawn Airey, managing director of Sky Networks, said. “By launching simultaneously on Freeview, Sky Three will reach an even wider audience and offer digital terrestrial viewers the opportunity to enjoy a wide variety of popular programs from Sky.”