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Court TV launches on Freeview on Feb. 15
- Feb 9, 2021
- Latest News
Court TV will launch on Freeview, the United Kingdom’s biggest TV platform, on February 15. Court TV, the world’s only multi-platform network devoted to live and in-depth legal reporting and expert analysis of the most important and compelling trials in the United States, will be seen on channel 89.
Freeview viewers will now have access to Court TV’s live coverage and analysis of one of the biggest trials in modern U.S. history, starting in early March.
Forty-six-year-old African American George Floyd was killed on May 25, 2020 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, while being arrested for allegedly using a counterfeit bill. Footage showing Minneapolis police officer, Derek Chauvin, kneeling on Floyd’s neck while three police colleagues looked on, went viral on social media and sparked a global movement protesting against police brutality and racism. The four officers will face third degree murder charges with Chauvin being tried separately. Jury selection for Chauvin’s trial begins March 8 and Court TV will be the only network in the world to cover the proceedings live in their entirety.
Court TV's on-air team of anchors, legal correspondents and veteran crime and justice journalists - all of whom are lawyers – will lead the analysis of the Floyd trial. Anchors Vinnie Politan, Julie Grant, Ted Rowlands and Michael Ayala, legal correspondents Chanley Painter and Julia Jenaé will be joined by the brightest attorneys, most experienced investigators, and experts in the U.S. who will provide legal insights, opinion, and discussion.
To help set the stage for the trials, Court TV will present “I Can’t Breathe” – A Court TV Special, an hour-long original program that takes viewers through Floyd’s life, with origins in Houston, Texas, and his tragic death which launched a national movement on race in America. “I Can’t Breathe” – A Court TV Special features exclusive interviews with Floyd’s friends, the brother of one of the officers charged in the case as well as media and activists from Houston and Minneapolis. Court TV Anchor Michael Ayala hosts, along with reporting from Court TV legal correspondent Julia Jenae and contributions by members of the network’s acclaimed team of anchors and reporters. The special will be seen Saturday, February 20 and Sunday, March 7 at 3:00 p.m. (Greenwich Mean Time) both days.
Cameras in the court room is handled on a state-by-state basis in the United States and Minnesota has not historically allowed cameras. Court TV helped lead the charge for media access in the Floyd-related trials and in landmark ruling by Peter A Cahill, the judge presiding over Minnesota v. Chauvin, Court TV was granted permission to telecast live from inside the courtroom for this internationally significant trial. Court TV will broadcast the historic proceedings live to its networks in the US and UK gavel-to-gavel and it will mark the first time in Court TV’s history that the network has broadcast a trial from a Minneapolis courtroom.
In addition to Freeview, Court TV also available in the UK on Sky channel 179 and Freesat channel 177.