[JMT1985]

Is it normal for Sky Atlantic to have only 1-mins long ad breaks in the middle of the show, at least at peak times?

It appears to be the only Sky entertainment channel to have 2 internal ad breaks per hour instead of three.

Sky Atlantic as a subscription only channel from Sky probably can rely on the subscription revenue for it's budget rather than ad revenue and so Sky Atlantic maybe are able to have fairly short ad breaks, this could be a possible answer - the other answer is that they couldn't sell much ad space for those particular programmes and just aired the ads they managed to sell

[Brekkie]

Game of Thrones used to only have two ad breaks, sometimes just the one I think.

[Kunst]

On weekends I think they have normal two normal ad breaks with 4 mins long of pure advertising per internal break and 4 minutes of and external break so that it makes 12 minutes per hour, at least before 8pm...messy strategy, either you have short internal breaks everywhere or you don't lol.

But, of course, it's much better for the type of channel Sky Atlantic is to have the shorter less frequent breaks kind of strategy, it makes the channel premium.

Sky Atlantic Italy is very similar too (I think there's no internal breaks at all), and Sky German entertainment channels have no advertising at all, to make pay TV look attractive.

While I realize Sky British channels have to compete with A LOT more channels, they try to make the ad breaks look slightly less invasive tha ITV/Channel 4 and a few others I've noticed: they're 3 mins long of pure advertising instead of the usual 3'30 and 4'00, and they have an external advertising break.

Sky Italian entertainment channels are in a middle position, as the breaks are normally just 1-2 per hour and at times there's no break at all for 25-30 mins long slots, on all channels.
And there's also no dependence on the top of the hour/half hour slots.

[WillPS]

Worth bearing in mind that everyone* who can receive Sky Atlantic (linear) is eligible to receive the exact same content via on demand, with no advertising, trails only or in the case of Now without Boost with hardly any adverts.

It makes sense that Sky wouldn't want to push away the remaining linear viewership faster than the rate of attrition they already have - some advertising money is better than none.

[ckck1704]

One thing i noticed about sky witness, is that at least one ident with the old logo is still in rotation alongside the newer versions.

[JAS84]

Hmm, would it be because removing the holding shape would cause the word Sky to blend in with the background, so it couldn't be updated?

[ckck1704]

Hmm, would it be because removing the holding shape would cause the word Sky to blend in with the background, so it couldn't be updated?

No, the updated version of the ident in question is also in rotation.

New
theident.gallery 

The Ident Gallery
Sky Witness : 2020 Idents : The Chase ident
  Source: theident.gallery

Old
theident.gallery 

The Ident Gallery
Sky Witness : 2018 Idents : The Chase ident
  Source: theident.gallery

[callumwatchestelly]

The E! channel in the UK is yet ANOTHER channel that's being shut down over the Christmas holidays.
rxtvinfo.com 

E! is leaving Sky and Virgin Media - so where can I find its replacement? >…
NBCUniversal is closing its E! channel in the UK and Ireland over the holidays, …
  Source: rxtvinfo.com

[Rex]

The E! channel in the UK is yet ANOTHER channel that's being shut down over the Christmas holidays.
rxtvinfo.com 

We all knew it was going to be wound down, it was just a matter of when. I now wonder what will happen with Movies24, the only way that stays on-air is if Sky brings it in line with its portfolio. Otherwise it will be definitely be closed within the next few years.

We have long since reached a point of no return with pay TV channels relying on repeats being closed. On-demand and streaming is the way forward

[Brekkie]

I guess a "free" (to basic subscribers) Sky Cinema Mix is unlikely.