Sky Real Lives first launched as Sky Travel on 3 October 1994, and became part of the
Sky Multichannels package. It originally broadcast between Monday and Thursday between midday and midnight and on Friday between 12pm and 6pm until September 1997. In 2001, the channel started broadcasting 7 days a week from 6am until 11pm. The channel was revamped in September 2002. Sky Travel launched with
Freeview on 30 October 2002, along with
Sky News and
Sky Sports News. In February 2003, a spin-off of the channels, Sky Travel Shop, launched a dedicated travel retail channel in the Specialist, then Shopping section of the
electronic program guide (EPG). In September 2003 both channels were launched on the NTL platform. With increased distribution, Sky Travel changed its programming strategy to attract a wider audience, skewing towards stronger entertainment programs with a travel theme, particularly reality shows. By August 2004, the core channel was broadcasting 24 hours a day and in January 2005, a timeshifted version of Sky Travel was launched. In October 2005, Sky Travel on Freeview was replaced by
Sky Three and on 6 March 2006, the Sky Travel channels were moved from the "Entertainment" section on the Sky EPG, to the "Lifestyle and Culture" section. In August 2006, Sky Travel began showing reality TV, whilst Sky Travel Extra dedicated its airtime to documentaries Sky Real Lives 2, the replacement channel for Sky Travel Extra, gained additional broadcast hours from its launch. From 2002 until 2007, Sky Real Lives 2 only aired from 6am until 1am. However, on 7 November, the channel began 24-hour broadcasts. Sky Real Lives programmes were showcased on Sky's main channels; Sky1,
Sky2, but mostly on its
free-to-air sister channel, Sky3 (now known as
Sky Mix). ==Changes on Freeview==