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ETV Media Group will today launch the UK’s largest general merchandise retail TV channel, Argos TV. The channel is the first of its kind in the UK to make available over 30,000 products from leading brands across all product categories.

Argos TV will broadcast 24 hours a day, seven days a week on Sky channel 642, and also be streamed live at argos.co.uk/tv.

Viewers of Argos TV will instantly be able to purchase their product via the web or through a dedicated contact centre, and be able to collect their purchase from their nearest Argos store on the same day via ‘Check and Reserve’, a service unrivalled by any other UK shopping channel.

The channel will capitalise on the retailer’s extensive brand connections built up over Argos’s 35 year history, and will be the first and only teleshopping channel to bring TV viewers fashionable branded products such as the iPad 2.

ETV’s 40-strong production team will produce four hours of live programming every weekday to be broadcast between 7pm and 11pm, and eight hours of live programming every weekend broadcast between 3pm and 11pm. The remainder of the programming schedule will be populated with a pre-recorded and meta-tagged library of bite-sized product demos and pre-record hour-long programmes.

ETV’s Argos TV team has already produced over 100 hours of content showcasing 750 Argos products, all of which has been meta-tagged, enabling Argos planners to build a broadcast schedule in response to customer buying trends.

The channel is produced and broadcast from Kentish Town Studios. The studio has been divided up into five distinct selling areas: kitchen, living room, day room, display room and patio. This studio design enables all the Argos products to be demonstrated in their intended environment and allows for the pace of the shows to flow around one studio.

ETV has appointed Elliot Moscow as Director of Programmes for Argos TV. Elliot brings 13 years of home shopping TV experience, joining from QVC where he played an integral role in launching the business’s tapeless play-out facility, and was at the forefront of building QVC’s sales strategy.

Elliot will report to Paul Tremain who has been newly appointed Broadcast Controller at Argos TV as of 1st July 2011. Paul joins Argos from ETV where he held the role of Director of Programmes for Gala TV. His role at Gala TV will be filled by Natalie Woods who has been promoted from the channel’s Senior Producer.

Mark Murphy, Managing Director, ETV Media Group, said: “Argos has something truly unique to bring the UK TV home shopping market, retail heritage and brand credibility unparalleled by any other teleshopping channel on the Sky platform. The launch of Argos TV is a game changer in the UK retail world, as more businesses look to become content owners. Elliot’s considerable retail TV expertise and understanding of the drivers behind the home shopping market make him the ideal candidate to lead ETV’s Argos TV team.”

Adrian Burleton, Business Development Director, Argos added: “As the leader in multi-channel shopping, Argos will use television to add a further dimension to the way in which customers can shop for its products from home. With the TV home shopping market valued at £750 million and growing, it’s a great opportunity for us.”