[2] Carlton Select was the result of a purchase by Pearson Television of production company, SelecTV for £5.2m in 1996.

SelecTV had run a cable-only channel of the same name since Thursday 1 June 1995 and following Carlton's purchase, SelecTV was renamed as Carlton Select,[3][4] and Carlton branded it as "The UK's leading entertainment cable channel" with output from a variety of different genres, including quiz shows, films, dramas and comedies.

Carlton Select also occasionally showed live coverage of the UEFA Champions League.

Later, broadcast hours were extended with closedown time on weekdays becoming 01:00, and 02:00 at the weekend.

The future of the channel was being considered internally as early as mid-1999 and Carlton Select was eventually closed down on 1 March 2000.