Merit was a short-lived time-shared British lifestyle and entertainment TV channel which was a part of the Freeview lineup in the late summer of 2020. Broadcasting The channel began broadcasting at 9pm on 29 July 2020, its launch delayed from the earlier date of 8 July; under its first iteration it was owned by the ITV Digital Channels division of ITV plc. It broadcast three hours daily from 9pm to midnight on the former ITV3 +1 Freeview channel slot (which itself was moved to channel 58). During ITV Digital Channels' control of the channel, it ran no advertisements. The channel's licence was acquired by Sky UK Limited on 20 August 2020. On 17 September 2020, the channel's Freeview slot (34) was taken over by Pick, which moved to accommodate the launch of Sky Arts on channel 11, and Merit consequently ceased transmission that day at midnight. Programming The channel didn't broadcast original programming, with the content shown being archival or imported programming from its respective licence holders. Programming from Sky included Four Weddings and the American and New Zealand versions of My Kitchen Rules, while ITV's contributions included The Hungry Sailors and Britain's Best Back Gardens. References 2020 establishments in the United Kingdom 2020 disestablishments in the United Kingdom ITV television channels Sky television channels Television channels and stations established in 2020 Television channels and stations disestablished in 2020 2020 mergers and acquisitions Defunct British television channels