 During sports programming on Sky One, prior to the launch of Sky Sports 2, channels which were part of the Sky Multichannels package were made available free-to-view, to allow sports subscribers who did not take up the Multichannels package to watch sports coverage, but it was also used to promote the package to viewers who had not signed up to the Multichannels package.Sky Multichannels utilized space on the Astra 1A, Astra 1B, Astra 1C and Astra 1D satellites.The original subscription charge was £6.99 a month at launch, although those who signed up before 1 September 1993 could get the channels for the discounted price of £3.99 a month until the start of 1994.