fbpx
Wikipedia

CITV

CITV is a British children's morning programming block on ITV2 and was a former free-to-air channel owned by ITV plc. CITV, then Children's ITV, launched on 3 January 1983 as a late afternoon programming block on the ITV network for children aged 6–12.[notes 1] It replaced the earlier Watch It! branding and introduced networked in-vision continuity links between programmes. These links were originally pre-recorded from a small London studio up until 1987, when Central won the contract to produce live links from their Birmingham studios. In 2004, presentation of CITV was relocated to Granada Television in Manchester, which saw the demise of in-vision continuity. Nine years later, the operations moved to ITV Granada's MediaCityUK studios in Salford.

CITV
CountryUnited Kingdom
Isle of Man
Channel Islands
Programming
Language(s)English
Picture format1080i/1080p HDTV
(downscaled to 576i on Freeview, cable and satellite)
Ownership
OwnerITV plc
ParentITV Digital Channels
Sister channels
History
Launched3 January 1983; 40 years ago (1983-01-03) (ITV1 block)
11 March 2006; 17 years ago (2006-03-11) (channel)
2 September 2023; 48 days ago (2023-09-02) (ITV2 block)
Closed27 August 2023; 54 days ago (2023-08-27) (ITV1 block)
1 September 2023; 49 days ago (2023-09-01) (channel)
Links
Websiteitv.com
Availability
Terrestrial
FreeviewChannel 203

In 2006, CITV launched as a digital channel on Freeview. The channel broadcast content from CITV's archive and acquisitions daily from 6:00 am to 9:00 pm. The CITV channel averaged around 100,000 viewers between 4:00 pm and 6:00 pm daily.[citation needed] The CITV programming block on the ITV network airs on weekend mornings from 6:00 am to 9:25 am as part of the ITV Breakfast time slot. CITV did not have a +1 simulcast, unlike the rest of ITV's portfolio of channels. Additionally, the channel was only simulcast in HD on Sky online and Sky Glass.

On 22 July 2023, ITV launched a new children's hub on the ITVX streaming service, called ITVX Kids, with plans that it would be an eventual replacement for the CITV channel.[1] At 9:00pm on 1 September 2023, the channel ceased broadcasting with a loop informing viewers of the move to ITVX.[2]

On 2 September 2023, the children's block was moved to feature every morning on ITV2 during breakfast time, 05:00 to 09:00. Shows broadcast are from ITVX Kids, featured on the streaming service ITVX. This block retains the CITV branding after the channel's closure.[3]

On 1 October 2023, CITV's 602 Freesat slot was removed.

History

Watch It! and Children's ITV: Early years (1980–1989)

Before being known as Children's ITV, the timeslot for children's programmes on the ITV network was briefly branded as Watch It!, which started on 29 December 1980,[4] and was presented live by the duty continuity announcer in each ITV region.

The notion of networking children's continuity was first suggested within ITV as far back as the early 1970s, but with fierce regional identities prevalent – including scheduling, presentation, and programming – the idea stalled until the late 1970s, when the IBA began to express concern that most ITV shows for children were not consistent or fully networked. On Thursdays, the ITV regions were able to broadcast whatever programmes they wished; many non-children's programmes appeared, such as Looney Tunes. In December 1980, ITV announced its first concerted effort at a more coherent approach to children's output, with the introduction of the new Watch It! block each weekday from 4:15 pm to 5:15 pm, after the IBA continued to emphasize issues.[5]

Watch It! was conceived by the promotions department at ATV, with the implementation of the branding differing from region to region, thus it was always transmitted locally and never provided on a network basis. ATV provided different animations each season, to freshen up what was available to each company. Most regions would use their own station announcers during Watch It! airtime.

Shortly after the start of new franchises in 1982, some ITV stations raised concerns that Watch It! had not gone far enough to address previous concerns.[6] Central's Controller of Children's Programmes, Lewis Rudd, suggested a different approach to the presentation method. As a result, the Central Promotions Department came up with the initial concept for Children's ITV. The new look was devised, and links between programmes were pre-recorded using presenters drawn from the constituent programmes. The networking arrangements were similar to those already in place for the transmission of schools programmes – the links were played out from Central and the component programmes came from the supplying companies.[7]

Children's ITV went to air on Monday 3 January 1983,[8] between 4 and 5:15 pm every weekday afternoon, the extra 15 minutes being filled by a repeat of one of the preschool programmes shown at lunchtime the same day. Initially featuring a different presenter each month (usually from children's television), the links were pre-recorded in advance in a small studio at a London facility called Molinare, using a single locked-off camera. The first set design was a rocket ship and was used for the first few months. The concept was eventually retired, and the set and style of presentation used began to reflect the presenter doing the presenting that month or the programme that they starred in (i.e. Pat Coombs as "The Dressmaker" from Yorkshire Television's Ragdolly Anna in a room of antiques in April 1984).

By 1985, the links were still being recorded, but using a common, stylized set known as Network Control, which allowed the presenter to be joined by guests in the studio for interviews. The exterior of this fictitious location also featured in the animations and stings. Technical considerations often left the system flawed. With each programme coming from a different playout source (usually from that of the originating ITV company, i.e. if the first programme was Rainbow, which came from Thames TV, the staff there would have to run the tape while the presenter was talking and wouldn't show Thames TV's skyline ident before the programme's titles) and each link being pre-recorded (played out by Central), things often went wrong on air: programmes would be rolled early and the links would be cut short. Programmes would also fail to appear and the presenter would be left on screen. Because each link was recorded for the slot available, the presenter would hold the final pose for a few moments so that the transmission controller at Central had something to leave on screen just in case. Pre-recording the links also meant that late schedule changes could not be easily referenced.

In September 1985, the BBC revamped their own children's presentation with the introduction of Children's BBC. Using the BBC1 announcer booth at BBC Television Centre, later dubbed "The Broom Cupboard", Phillip Schofield provided links between the programmes. This format of a small self-op continuity studio using one single presenter (and an occasional puppet) continued in largely the same format until 1993, but was broadcast live and allowed for a looser, more relaxed style of presentation than the rival Children's ITV service.[9]

Children's ITV went live in early June 1987.[10] Using the small presentation studio at their Broad Street studios – which had become available since in-vision continuity for the Central region was dropped – former Central announcers Gary Terzza and Debbie Shore presented live links from a set built to look like a transmitting station. Although the studio space was small, the designers' use of a plate glass mirror gave the effect of a much larger set. The new live format gave brought a great deal of flexibility; timings could be altered, schedule changes reflected, and breakdowns dealt with in a continuous manner. In 1988, the format was refreshed again with a new single presenter, Mark Granger,[11] replacing Terzza and Shore, in a smaller, more basic studio set which included in-vision monitors showing the VT clock of the next scheduled item.

The Stonewall Productions era (1989–1991)

On 3 April 1989, the independent production company Stonewall Productions won the contract to produce the Children's ITV presentation. Stonewall Productions was headed up by Michael Jackson, a Central staffer who used his expertise to prepare a suitable application.

Whereas Central had restricted links to the station's former in-vision presentation studio, Stonewall chose not to use a fixed set, but instead presented links from various areas of Central's headquarters at Broad Street in Birmingham, utilising a rotating team of presenters which included Clive Warren (now a DJ), Jeanne Downs (a singer), Jerry Foulkes (a producer who left Children's ITV on 22 December 1989), and a large puppet dog called Scally (who started out with Mark during his last few months).[7]

Central regains control (1991–2001)

 
CITV logo (26 May 1998 - 7 September 2003)

Central won back the contract to produce the continuity links from 9 April 1991, choosing to revert links back to a small in-vision studio using only one regular presenter, Tommy Boyd. During the 1991–1993 era, greater importance was being placed throughout television on promotions (trailers) as a way of effectively detailing areas of the schedule to viewers who might not know about them. The 1993 invitation to tender for the provision of the Children's ITV service specified a minimum number of high quality trailers that the successful applicant must produce over the term of the contract. With a large promotions department - and a strong, highly credible reputation for presentation within the ITV network - the contract remained with Central.

On 15 February 1993, in-vision presentation was dropped by the first Network Centre Controller of Children's & Daytime Programming Dawn Airey (a former Central Management trainee) with Steven Ryde providing live out-of-vision continuity links featuring a wide variety of animated characters. On 6 September 1993, Children's ITV was extended to start at 3:30 pm, where the ITV network centre decided to move the preschool children slot from 12:10 pm, to be branded as Children's ITV in the afternoon slot. Around the same time, Children's ITV began to be informally referred to as CITV. However, the "Children's" was not removed from the logo until Monday 2 September 1996, the same month a digital on-screen graphic (DOG) was introduced.

Presentation for the service was moved in 1997 when Central moved into new, smaller studios at Gas Street Studios in Birmingham, which continued until Friday 22 May 1998. A new in-vision service was introduced on Tuesday 26 May 1998 by the new controller of Children's ITV output, Nigel Pickard. Steven Ryde became a producer with Stephen Mulhern and Danielle Nicholls becoming the new presentation team. A new logo was introduced, designed by Aaron Camm (with traces of predecessors), and henceforth, Children's ITV became CITV, initially being broadcast from Studio B at Central's Gas Street Studios.

Central retained the contact to produce CITV for a further two years, seeing off two rival bids from other ITV companies.[12] Shortly after launch, CITV started sharing studio space with the West Midlands edition of Central News in September 1999, allowing room for a large stylised set created by a company called Dorans Propmakers. The main studio for Central News West had previously been used for live music performances during CITV.

Cutbacks (2001–2009)

 
CITV logo (8 September 2003 - 10 March 2006)

In 2001, CITV's budget was cut by 17% due to the advertising recession, leading to CITV's controller Janie Grace publicly criticising Carlton and Granada Television, then the main controlling forces in the network, for underinvestment in ITV's children's service.[13] Grace went even further and complained to the regulator ITC, claiming CITV was unlikely to fulfil its range of programming commitments in the following year. Grace also sought support from the ITC for the creation of a separate CITV Ltd company which would allow more children's output to be made in-house - a proposal which ultimately fell apart due to the need for a change in the law and support from the Office of Fair Trading. A new strand was introduced at 3:25 pm every afternoon and was put in place under the name "CITV's Telly Tots". The in-house presentation was dropped between 3:25 and 4 pm and replaced with a CGI animated town using a plane, car, and a post box as mascots. A child voiceover was used to introduce its preschool shows. Books and video tapes were introduced to tie-in with the new strand.[14] Further cuts took place again during 2002 which brought the total cutback to 25% of the overall budget (£30 million less).[15]

Despite the cutbacks, the ITC noted that CITV had a "sustained an impressive schedule", gave "factual material a fresh look", and "continued to produce good dramas"[16] Just after CITV celebrated its 20th birthday in January 2003, Janie Grace resigned from the post, just before Nigel Pickard was named as ITV's new Director of Programmes.[17][18] Pickard pledged to produce 80 more hours of children's programming in 2003, against a target of 520 hours in 2002 and extend the range of programmes to include more factual and topical programmes, as well as more mixed entertainment and drama,[19] Once again, concerns about CITV and its structure were highlighted by Angus Fletcher, president of Jim Henson Television Europe, and Anne Wood, founder of Ragdoll Productions, as it could only earn money from a then unreliable advertising market, unlike BBC Worldwide, where the likes of Teletubbies, Tweenies, and Bob the Builder became key money earners for the corporation.[17]

Steven Andrew took over as ITV's controller of children and youth, overseeing the merger of Carlton and Granada's children's departments. Andrew also began looking at the possibility of launching a separate CITV channel, which had previously been put on hold by budget cuts. On-screen, various changes to the continuity presenting team saw no less than eight additions and replacements in the space of four years. By 31 August 2004, all in-vision continuity was replaced by a voice over, while the newly formed ITV plc announced the closure of its presentation and transmission facilities in Birmingham, signalling the end of CITV continuity from Central. Presentation was fully relocated to Granada in Manchester by 1 November 2004.

Further cuts took place in 2005[20] due to the perceived rising costs of original production, the effects on advertising revenues following the ban by Ofcom on 'junk food' advertising within children's schedules from 2007,[21][22] and increasing competition from CBBC and countless other digital children's channels for new programmes (especially imported cartoons, typically from the United States). In summer 2006, ITV closed down its in-house children's production unit, as part of ITV's then on-going process of restructuring ITV Productions, and blaming the closure on the competitive production environment, though ITV denied any intention of ditching its children's programming from its network schedule.[23] On 13 November 2006, CITV's weekday afternoon strand on the main ITV network permanently came to an end, making the CITV channel, which had launched earlier that year, the main outlet for ITV's kids programming. In July 2009, ITV announced it was the only channel to have an increased budget. Emma Tennant, the then controller of CITV, told the Showcomotion conference that "the commissioning budgets for all channels next year are going to be smaller, except CITV, which is growing – but it will not necessarily spend the additional money on original commissions". It was also made clear due to tight budgets it may just lead to more acquisitions rather than new programmes being commissioned.[24]

ITV simulcast (2006–2023)

A simulcast of the CITV channel was broadcast on ITV during weekend mornings. The final regular children's TV slot on ITV (ITV1/STV) ended just before 08:25 on Sunday 27 August 2023. The move comes 40 years and eight months after children's programmes on the ITV network were first brought under the Children's ITV brand.[25]

ITV2 programming block (2023–present)

On 2 September 2023, the morning after the closure of the CITV channel, ITV2 launched a new breakfast time block from 5am to 9am everyday with shows featured on ITVX Kids on ITVX. Currently, this block seems to retain the CITV branding.[26][27] The new children's strand replaces teleshopping and re-runs of shows including World's Funniest Videos and Love Bites. Kids shows featured on the new breakfast time block include Jurassic World Camp Cretaceous and Scooby-Doo.[25]

CITV channel

Original plans

Plans for a standalone CITV channel were announced in 2001, but was axed when ITV lost 25% of its budget for CITV. When Steven Andrew become controller of children and youth at ITV plc, he stated that "No kids strategy is complete without us being able to play in the cable and satellite world. In fact, we can't not do this and ultimately survive as a kids player in the future".[28]

In early 2004, ITV finally confirmed it was planning to launch a children's channel, but as a joint venture. Charles Allen, chief executive of ITV plc, did not believe in ITV creating a new channel as it was already an "over-populated market", with talk being held with Nickelodeon and Disney.[29]

On 11 April 2005, ITV announced they had entered into a partnership with Nickelodeon to launch a free-to-air network dubbed "INK" (ITV Nickelodeon Kids). The venture would allow the two companies to share programmes across each other's networks.[30] On 14 July 2005, it was announced that the venture would not go ahead and that ITV would instead go alone to launch a children's channel. Both parties failed to agree on the exact structure of the new venture and how it would be branded, with ITV saying "We just got to the point of thinking that it was more sustainable for us to do it ourselves. The deal fizzled out over a period of time". Nickelodeon described the decision to end the talks as a "mutual backing away".[31][32] ITV officially announced their new channel in August, although no launch window was announced, it was announced that it would timeshare with ITV4, which was due to launch on November 1.[33]

On 16 December 2005, it was announced that the ITV News Channel, which by then had downgraded its hours due to the launch of ITV4, would close down at the end of January 2006 to make way for the launch of the CITV channel in February.[34] However, ITV decided to change their mind and a few days later, announced they had brought the closure forward to December 23,[35] with the channel effectively ceasing operations that day. Until February, nothing played within the downtime of ITV4.

Channel history

The channel's launch was pushed back to 11 March in February 2006, as a result of problems "clearing the digital rights to children's programming" and "comprehensive" rebranding, it was again pushed back by another four weeks.[36]

Promos for the channel began on 20 February, including an online countdown clock, running to the channel's launch date. As had become standard for Freeview channel launches, the channel was allocated an EPG number well before transmission started. Initially, a static 'coming soon' graphic was shown, followed by a preview video loop running from late February 2006 until the launch.[37]

The channel launched on 11 March 2006 at 9:25 am, with a simulcast of Holly and Stephen's Saturday Showdown being the first program to air on the channel. It initially launched on Freeview Channel 75, Homechoice (now known as TalkTalk TV), and Telewest Channel 734, and was added to Sky Channel 624 on 8 May 2006 and NTL Channel 76/602 on 6 June. Additionally, the channel simulcasts CITV Breakfast (previously known as GMTV2, which was originally broadcast on ITV2, then ITV4) on weekdays between 6 am and 9:25 am. The channel broadcast daily from 6:00am–6:00pm, although throughout 2007, the channel ended broadcast at 12:30pm on weekends to make way for sports coverage on ITV4.[38]

On 5 February 2008, ITV4 extended its broadcast hours to broadcast around the clock. As a consequence, the CITV Channel moved to the multiplex space on Freeview originally held by ABC1 from English and Scottish transmitters and S4C from Welsh transmitters, which meant that viewers of the latter were unable to receive the channel on Freeview unless they could receive transmissions from England.

On 2 November 2009, the channel was relaunched with a new logo and branding to match ITV1 as part of ITV plc's corporate look. The channel's preschool strand was given a dramatic overhaul, and renamed Mini CITV. Mini CITV was hosted by a group of spacemen-like beings called the Minis, who oversee presentation items on the channel. With the exception of weekends and holidays, Mini CITV took up the majority of output on the channel for a few years, though this was scaled back in 2012. On 9 January 2012, a change in the forward error correction mode on the multiplex allowed CITV to broadcast in Wales on Freeview.

On 21 December 2012, the channel aired its first live programme since 2006, a 45-minute CITV special of Text Santa, ITV's Christmas charity appeal. A year later, a series of 10-minute programmes titled Help for Hattitude in aid of the above-mentioned appeal was produced for the channel - both programmes were produced in-house by ITV Studios.

A new look was introduced on 14 January 2013 to coincide with ITV's corporate rebranding. The channel adopted a "yellowy-orange" logo with playful idents that "burp and fart, and do other things kids love".[39] On the weekend of Saturday 5 and Sunday 6 January 2013, CITV celebrated its thirty years of service with a marathon of archive programming, officially known as the Old Skool Weekend.

On 22 February 2016, CITV extended its on-air hours, the channel now finishes at 21:00 rather than the earlier 18:00.

On 11 April 2021, CITV's weekend morning block Scrambled! aired for the final time, marking the end of in-vision continuity on both CITV and ITV. CITV would continue to air on ITV on weekend mornings.

On Monday 19 September 2022, due to the state funeral for Queen Elizabeth II, normal programming was replaced by ITV London's feed[40][41][42] This was in contrast to CBBC[43] and CBeebies channels.[43]

Closure of the channel

 
ITVX Kids logo (Used since 22 July 2023)

On 10 March 2023, ITV plc announced that it would close the CITV channel in the autumn, with a phased migration of ITV's children's programming moving to ITVX Kids set to launch on 22 July, on its streaming service ITVX.[44][45][1]

ITVX launched the ITVX Kids FAST channel on 12 July 2023.[46]

The CITV channel closed at 9:00pm on 1 September 2023. The last programme to air on the channel was an episode of The Rubbish World of Dave Spud, titled ‘Moonbreaker’. The channel then closed shortly afterwards with a loop informing its viewers that its content could now be seen on ITVX.[47]

Programming

Programming between 6 and 9:25 am was controlled by ITV Breakfast (previously GMTV), who, having rebranded the vast majority of their GMTV children's output as CITV, now use the space to simulcast their programming at weekends on the ITV network and CITV Breakfast on weekdays.[48] ITV took over at 9:25 am, controlling the rest of the day's programming. When it first launched, GMTV used to sell all the airtime for the channel, making it the first ITV plc-owned channel not to be sold by the in-house sales team. Airtime sales were taken back in-house by ITV.[49]

Some of the channel's most notable programming has been specially commissioned by CITV, such as Horrid Henry, Mr. Bean: The Animated Series, Grizzly Tales for Gruesome Kids, Thunderbirds Are Go, Oddbods, and Sooty. A number of other programmes are sourced from other broadcasters in the UK and around the world.

Programmes Featured On Current Block

Featured on the block broadcast on ITV2.

Films Featured On Current Block

Video games

In the mid-2000s, CITV developed flash games, including the "Harry the Hamster" series and trilogy, where a bridge is built out of plastic pipes for Harry to cross the room in the first game of the series. In "Harry the Hamster 2: The Quest for the Golden Wheel", he searches for eight pieces scattered around a network of plastic pipes and other pathways to build his hamster wheel while trying to avoid running out of energy. Each collected piece refills the energy. In the three-dimensional game "Harry the Hamster 3: Rolling Rodent", he rolls through a garden inside a plastic ball and needs to stomp his enemies, which include frogs, spiders, garden gnomes, and wild rabbits.

Mini CITV

Mini CITV
 
NetworkITV, CITV
Country of originUnited Kingdom
FormatPreschool Programming
Running time8:45 am – 3 pm (weekdays) 6 am – 7:25 am (weekends and holidays)

Mini CITV, which was launched on 2 November 2009, was the slot that housed CITV's preschool programming. It was aimed at preschool children. Between 2009 and 2012, Mini CITV was shown on weekdays in school term time between 8:45 am to 3 pm, and on weekends and school holidays between 6 am to 7:25 am. ITV broadcast Mini CITV on weekend mornings as well, there was also a block called The Fluffy Club between 2008 and 2010 on weekend mornings that housed preschool programmes and featured a puppet baby chick in between programmes. A series of little animated rabbit-like characters called the "Minis" were the mascots of the strand (similar to the bug mascots of its rival CBeebies).

On 7 January 2013, the Mini CITV name and the Mini mascots were dropped from on-screen use and a year later, on 7 January 2014, CITV removed all of its preschool programming from both its weekday and weekend schedules with the exception of Sooty, which continued to broadcast until 3 September 2018, after which it started broadcasting on ITVBe's new preschool block, LittleBe.

Ratings

The CITV channel launched with a full-day average of 33,000 viewers and a 2.5% share of the child audience. This put it ahead of other channels Cartoon Network (20,000, a 1.5% share), Boomerang (28,000 a 2.1% share), and Nickelodeon (26,000 a 2.0% share). The channel peaked at 4:30 pm with Bratz gaining 51,000 viewers and a 3.6% share.[59]

The channel took a 0.2% audience share in its first week compared to: CBBC 0.6%, Cartoon Network 0.4%, Boomerang 0.4%, and CBeebies 1.4%. Its overall ratings share for March 2006 was 0.1%; by April 2006 this had risen to 0.2%, 0.3% followed in May. In August 2006, the channel became the most popular commercial kids channel between 6 am and 6 pm.[60] On 6 January 2013, the CITV channel received its highest viewing figures to date: Danger Mouse, which was shown as part of the "Old Skool Weekend" to celebrate CITV's 30th anniversary, attracted 578,000 viewers.[61]

Footnotes

  1. ^ At this point, there was only one "ITV" channel in any given area - transmitter overlap and split weekday/weekend franchises aside - and "ITV" was solely a generic/collective name for the various regional commercial television stations.

References

  1. ^ a b Thornham, Marc (22 May 2023). "ITVX Kids launch date announced". RXTV info. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
  2. ^ "CITV: Children's TV channel will close in September following launch of ITVX Kids". Sky News. Retrieved 3 September 2023.
  3. ^ "Changes to ITV1 and ITV2 after CITV closure". rxtvinfo. Retrieved 4 September 2023.
  4. ^ "[no title cited]". Television and Radio. The Times. 29 December 1980.[full citation needed]
  5. ^ Gosling, Kenneth (11 December 1980). "ITV denies profligacy in programme deals". The Times. p. 4.[full citation needed]
  6. ^ Gosling, Kenneth (21 January 1982). "Donald Duck faces the cold shoulder from TV". The Times. p. 12.
  7. ^ a b Taylor, Greg; Wilson, Jamie (12 June 2000). . freespace.virgin.net. Archived from the original on 8 April 2001. Retrieved 22 June 2013.
  8. ^ "CITV set for classic kids TV weekend". BBC News. 19 December 2012. Retrieved 22 June 2013.
  9. ^ "An unofficial history of children's BBC presentation". Broom Cupboard. Retrieved 22 June 2013.
  10. ^ TV Times: 30 May - 5 June 1987 Issues: P26 Gary and Debbie Welcomes you to Children's ITV
  11. ^ McDonald, Keith (22 February 2010). "Children's ITV - 1988". Knightmare. from the original on 1 January 2023. Retrieved 1 January 2023.
  12. ^ "Carlton regains CITV job". Broadcast Now. 18 June 1999. Retrieved 22 June 2013.
  13. ^ Brown, Maggie (1 November 2001). "ITV kids' shows at risk". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 June 2013.
  14. ^ Brown, Maggie (12 November 2001). "Suffer the children". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 June 2013.
  15. ^ Deans, Jason (20 November 2001). "BBC chief calls for strong CITV". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 June 2013.
  16. ^ "ITC Note: Children's Television". Ofcom. Retrieved 22 June 2013.
  17. ^ a b "Children's TV: CITV - Winning custody of the children". Broadcast Now. 3 February 2003. Retrieved 22 June 2013.
  18. ^ "Granada Kids boss replaces Grace". C21 Media. 27 February 2003. Retrieved 22 June 2013.
  19. ^ "ITV puts colour back into kids". Broadcast Now. 29 January 2003. Retrieved 22 June 2013.
  20. ^ "Tough times for kids TV". Broadcast Now. 24 February 2005. Retrieved 22 June 2013.
  21. ^ Sweney, Mark (17 November 2006). "Total ban for junk food ads around kids' shows". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 June 2013.
  22. ^ Harvey, Jessica (22 February 2007). "Ofcom to begin phasing out fast-food ads during kids programmes". caterersearch.com. Caterer and Hotelkeeper. Retrieved 22 June 2013.
  23. ^ Holmwood, Leigh (20 June 2006). "ITV to end kids' TV production". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 June 2013.
  24. ^ http://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/citv-bucks-trend-to-grow-budget/5003131.article CITV bucks trend to grow budget 2 July 2009 | By Katherine Rushton
  25. ^ a b Newsdesk1, RXTV (24 August 2023). "Changes to ITV1 and ITV2 after CITV closure > RXTV info". Retrieved 3 September 2023.
  26. ^ "CITV on ITV2 Children's Block Launch 02/09/23". Retrieved 3 September 2023 – via www.youtube.com.
  27. ^ "THE FIRST CITV ON ITV2 (HD) - 2nd September 2023 (5.00am - 9.00am) - Adverts and Continuity". Retrieved 3 September 2023 – via www.youtube.com.
  28. ^ "Autumn launch for CiTV channel". Broadcast. 12 December 2003. Retrieved 22 June 2013.
  29. ^ "New kids' channel planned by ITV". Media Week. 10 February 2004. Retrieved 22 June 2013.
  30. ^ Brown, Maggie (11 April 2005). "ITV to launch kids' channel with Nickelodeon". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
  31. ^ "ITV kids channel set for autumn". Broadcast. 14 July 2005. Retrieved 22 June 2013.
  32. ^ "New kids plan for ITV?". ToyNews. 29 July 2005. Archived from the original on 15 January 2013. Retrieved 22 June 2013.
  33. ^ "ITV to launch fta kids channel". C21media. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
  34. ^ Conlan, Tara (14 December 2005). "ITV News Channel axed". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
  35. ^ "ITV News Channel to close before Christmas". The Guardian. 19 December 2005. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
  36. ^ Brown, Maggie (13 February 2006). "Kidding Around Gets Serious". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 13 February 2006.
  37. ^ . Archived from the original on 1 March 2006. Retrieved 28 February 2006.
  38. ^ "Part time channels - whats the point?". 4 November 2007.
  39. ^ Laughlin, Andrew (16 November 2012). "ITV1 to become 'ITV' in major corporate rebrand". Digital Spy. Retrieved 17 December 2012.
  40. ^ "ITV confirms its plans for coverage of the state funeral for Her Majesty the Queen".
  41. ^ "Itv Confirms Plans for the Queen's Funeral". 19 September 2022.
  42. ^ "UK channels suspend broadcasts following Queen's death". 8 September 2022.
  43. ^ a b "CBeebies - Schedules, Monday 19 September 2022".
  44. ^ "ITV to shutter its linear kidsnet and move content to ITVX". Kidscreen. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
  45. ^ "ITV announces closure of CITV in favour of streaming-only children's content". ITV. 10 March 2023. Retrieved 30 April 2023.
  46. ^ "ITVX Kids". ITVX. 12 July 2023. Retrieved 12 July 2023.
  47. ^ Thornham, Marc (24 August 2023). "Changes to ITV1 and ITV2 after CITV closure". RXTV info. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
  48. ^ . Archived from the original on 23 September 2006. Retrieved 30 January 2006.
  49. ^ "ITV Media -". Archived from the original on 4 August 2012. Retrieved 30 July 2019.
  50. ^ "Dodo (Bits) on ITV2, Sat 2 Sep 5:15am - TV Guide UK TVGuide.co.uk". TVGuide.co.uk. Retrieved 3 September 2023.
  51. ^ "Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated (In Fear of the Phantom) on ITV2, Fri 8 Sep 5:25am - TVGuide.co.uk". www.tvguide.co.uk. Retrieved 3 September 2023.
  52. ^ "Craig of the Creek - ITV 2 - 8. September 2023, 07:00". Teleboy. Retrieved 3 September 2023.
  53. ^ "Teen Titans Go! (The Cast) on ITV2, Sun 3 Sep 6:25am - TVGuide.co.uk". www.tvguide.co.uk. Retrieved 3 September 2023.
  54. ^ "DC Super Hero Girls (#AmBatgirl Part 1) on ITV2, Sat 2 Sep 6:50am - TV Guide UK TVGuide.co.uk". TVGuide.co.uk. Retrieved 3 September 2023.
  55. ^ "Looney Tunes Cartoons (Looney Tunes Cartoons Back to School Special) on ITV2, Sat 2 Sep 7:30am - TV Guide UK TVGuide.co.uk". TVGuide.co.uk. Retrieved 3 September 2023.
  56. ^ "What's New Scooby-Doo? (There's No Creature Like Snow Creature) on ITV2, Sat 2 Sep 8:10am - TV Guide UK TVGuide.co.uk". TVGuide.co.uk. Retrieved 3 September 2023.
  57. ^ https://www.tvguide.co.uk/m-detail/3847042/84870032/the-epic-tales-of-captain-underpants
  58. ^ https://www.tvguide.co.uk/m-detail/4288228/84869142/jurassic-world-camp-cretaceous
  59. ^ Timms, Dominic (13 March 2006). "ITV Ratings at Six-Month Low". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 13 March 2006.
  60. ^ "CITV Channel Celebrates First Birthday". Digital Spy. 13 March 2007. Retrieved 13 March 2007.
  61. ^ "Old Skool weekend draws CITV's biggest ever audience". Broadcast. 8 January 2013. Retrieved 23 May 2023.

External links

  • ITVX Kids on ITVX
  • Children's shows on ITVX

citv, other, uses, disambiguation, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, this, article, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, . For other uses see CITV disambiguation This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources in this article Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources CITV news newspapers books scholar JSTOR November 2022 Learn how and when to remove this template message CITV is a British children s morning programming block on ITV2 and was a former free to air channel owned by ITV plc CITV then Children s ITV launched on 3 January 1983 as a late afternoon programming block on the ITV network for children aged 6 12 notes 1 It replaced the earlier Watch It branding and introduced networked in vision continuity links between programmes These links were originally pre recorded from a small London studio up until 1987 when Central won the contract to produce live links from their Birmingham studios In 2004 presentation of CITV was relocated to Granada Television in Manchester which saw the demise of in vision continuity Nine years later the operations moved to ITV Granada s MediaCityUK studios in Salford CITVCountryUnited KingdomIsle of ManChannel IslandsProgrammingLanguage s EnglishPicture format1080i 1080p HDTV downscaled to 576i on Freeview cable and satellite OwnershipOwnerITV plcParentITV Digital ChannelsSister channelsITV1ITV2ITV3ITV4ITVBeHistoryLaunched3 January 1983 40 years ago 1983 01 03 ITV1 block 11 March 2006 17 years ago 2006 03 11 channel 2 September 2023 48 days ago 2023 09 02 ITV2 block Closed27 August 2023 54 days ago 2023 08 27 ITV1 block 1 September 2023 49 days ago 2023 09 01 channel LinksWebsiteitv wbr comAvailabilityTerrestrialFreeviewChannel 203In 2006 CITV launched as a digital channel on Freeview The channel broadcast content from CITV s archive and acquisitions daily from 6 00 am to 9 00 pm The CITV channel averaged around 100 000 viewers between 4 00 pm and 6 00 pm daily citation needed The CITV programming block on the ITV network airs on weekend mornings from 6 00 am to 9 25 am as part of the ITV Breakfast time slot CITV did not have a 1 simulcast unlike the rest of ITV s portfolio of channels Additionally the channel was only simulcast in HD on Sky online and Sky Glass On 22 July 2023 ITV launched a new children s hub on the ITVX streaming service called ITVX Kids with plans that it would be an eventual replacement for the CITV channel 1 At 9 00pm on 1 September 2023 the channel ceased broadcasting with a loop informing viewers of the move to ITVX 2 On 2 September 2023 the children s block was moved to feature every morning on ITV2 during breakfast time 05 00 to 09 00 Shows broadcast are from ITVX Kids featured on the streaming service ITVX This block retains the CITV branding after the channel s closure 3 On 1 October 2023 CITV s 602 Freesat slot was removed Contents 1 History 1 1 Watch It and Children s ITV Early years 1980 1989 1 2 The Stonewall Productions era 1989 1991 1 3 Central regains control 1991 2001 1 4 Cutbacks 2001 2009 1 5 ITV simulcast 2006 2023 1 6 ITV2 programming block 2023 present 2 CITV channel 2 1 Original plans 2 2 Channel history 2 3 Closure of the channel 3 Programming 3 1 Programmes Featured On Current Block 3 2 Films Featured On Current Block 4 Video games 5 Mini CITV 6 Ratings 7 Footnotes 8 References 9 External linksHistoryFurther information Timeline of children s television on ITV Watch It and Children s ITV Early years 1980 1989 Before being known as Children s ITV the timeslot for children s programmes on the ITV network was briefly branded as Watch It which started on 29 December 1980 4 and was presented live by the duty continuity announcer in each ITV region The notion of networking children s continuity was first suggested within ITV as far back as the early 1970s but with fierce regional identities prevalent including scheduling presentation and programming the idea stalled until the late 1970s when the IBA began to express concern that most ITV shows for children were not consistent or fully networked On Thursdays the ITV regions were able to broadcast whatever programmes they wished many non children s programmes appeared such as Looney Tunes In December 1980 ITV announced its first concerted effort at a more coherent approach to children s output with the introduction of the new Watch It block each weekday from 4 15 pm to 5 15 pm after the IBA continued to emphasize issues 5 Watch It was conceived by the promotions department at ATV with the implementation of the branding differing from region to region thus it was always transmitted locally and never provided on a network basis ATV provided different animations each season to freshen up what was available to each company Most regions would use their own station announcers during Watch It airtime Shortly after the start of new franchises in 1982 some ITV stations raised concerns that Watch It had not gone far enough to address previous concerns 6 Central s Controller of Children s Programmes Lewis Rudd suggested a different approach to the presentation method As a result the Central Promotions Department came up with the initial concept for Children s ITV The new look was devised and links between programmes were pre recorded using presenters drawn from the constituent programmes The networking arrangements were similar to those already in place for the transmission of schools programmes the links were played out from Central and the component programmes came from the supplying companies 7 Children s ITV went to air on Monday 3 January 1983 8 between 4 and 5 15 pm every weekday afternoon the extra 15 minutes being filled by a repeat of one of the preschool programmes shown at lunchtime the same day Initially featuring a different presenter each month usually from children s television the links were pre recorded in advance in a small studio at a London facility called Molinare using a single locked off camera The first set design was a rocket ship and was used for the first few months The concept was eventually retired and the set and style of presentation used began to reflect the presenter doing the presenting that month or the programme that they starred in i e Pat Coombs as The Dressmaker from Yorkshire Television s Ragdolly Anna in a room of antiques in April 1984 By 1985 the links were still being recorded but using a common stylized set known as Network Control which allowed the presenter to be joined by guests in the studio for interviews The exterior of this fictitious location also featured in the animations and stings Technical considerations often left the system flawed With each programme coming from a different playout source usually from that of the originating ITV company i e if the first programme was Rainbow which came from Thames TV the staff there would have to run the tape while the presenter was talking and wouldn t show Thames TV s skyline ident before the programme s titles and each link being pre recorded played out by Central things often went wrong on air programmes would be rolled early and the links would be cut short Programmes would also fail to appear and the presenter would be left on screen Because each link was recorded for the slot available the presenter would hold the final pose for a few moments so that the transmission controller at Central had something to leave on screen just in case Pre recording the links also meant that late schedule changes could not be easily referenced In September 1985 the BBC revamped their own children s presentation with the introduction of Children s BBC Using the BBC1 announcer booth at BBC Television Centre later dubbed The Broom Cupboard Phillip Schofield provided links between the programmes This format of a small self op continuity studio using one single presenter and an occasional puppet continued in largely the same format until 1993 but was broadcast live and allowed for a looser more relaxed style of presentation than the rival Children s ITV service 9 Children s ITV went live in early June 1987 10 Using the small presentation studio at their Broad Street studios which had become available since in vision continuity for the Central region was dropped former Central announcers Gary Terzza and Debbie Shore presented live links from a set built to look like a transmitting station Although the studio space was small the designers use of a plate glass mirror gave the effect of a much larger set The new live format gave brought a great deal of flexibility timings could be altered schedule changes reflected and breakdowns dealt with in a continuous manner In 1988 the format was refreshed again with a new single presenter Mark Granger 11 replacing Terzza and Shore in a smaller more basic studio set which included in vision monitors showing the VT clock of the next scheduled item The Stonewall Productions era 1989 1991 On 3 April 1989 the independent production company Stonewall Productions won the contract to produce the Children s ITV presentation Stonewall Productions was headed up by Michael Jackson a Central staffer who used his expertise to prepare a suitable application Whereas Central had restricted links to the station s former in vision presentation studio Stonewall chose not to use a fixed set but instead presented links from various areas of Central s headquarters at Broad Street in Birmingham utilising a rotating team of presenters which included Clive Warren now a DJ Jeanne Downs a singer Jerry Foulkes a producer who left Children s ITV on 22 December 1989 and a large puppet dog called Scally who started out with Mark during his last few months 7 Central regains control 1991 2001 nbsp CITV logo 26 May 1998 7 September 2003 Central won back the contract to produce the continuity links from 9 April 1991 choosing to revert links back to a small in vision studio using only one regular presenter Tommy Boyd During the 1991 1993 era greater importance was being placed throughout television on promotions trailers as a way of effectively detailing areas of the schedule to viewers who might not know about them The 1993 invitation to tender for the provision of the Children s ITV service specified a minimum number of high quality trailers that the successful applicant must produce over the term of the contract With a large promotions department and a strong highly credible reputation for presentation within the ITV network the contract remained with Central On 15 February 1993 in vision presentation was dropped by the first Network Centre Controller of Children s amp Daytime Programming Dawn Airey a former Central Management trainee with Steven Ryde providing live out of vision continuity links featuring a wide variety of animated characters On 6 September 1993 Children s ITV was extended to start at 3 30 pm where the ITV network centre decided to move the preschool children slot from 12 10 pm to be branded as Children s ITV in the afternoon slot Around the same time Children s ITV began to be informally referred to as CITV However the Children s was not removed from the logo until Monday 2 September 1996 the same month a digital on screen graphic DOG was introduced Presentation for the service was moved in 1997 when Central moved into new smaller studios at Gas Street Studios in Birmingham which continued until Friday 22 May 1998 A new in vision service was introduced on Tuesday 26 May 1998 by the new controller of Children s ITV output Nigel Pickard Steven Ryde became a producer with Stephen Mulhern and Danielle Nicholls becoming the new presentation team A new logo was introduced designed by Aaron Camm with traces of predecessors and henceforth Children s ITV became CITV initially being broadcast from Studio B at Central s Gas Street Studios Central retained the contact to produce CITV for a further two years seeing off two rival bids from other ITV companies 12 Shortly after launch CITV started sharing studio space with the West Midlands edition of Central News in September 1999 allowing room for a large stylised set created by a company called Dorans Propmakers The main studio for Central News West had previously been used for live music performances during CITV Cutbacks 2001 2009 nbsp CITV logo 8 September 2003 10 March 2006 In 2001 CITV s budget was cut by 17 due to the advertising recession leading to CITV s controller Janie Grace publicly criticising Carlton and Granada Television then the main controlling forces in the network for underinvestment in ITV s children s service 13 Grace went even further and complained to the regulator ITC claiming CITV was unlikely to fulfil its range of programming commitments in the following year Grace also sought support from the ITC for the creation of a separate CITV Ltd company which would allow more children s output to be made in house a proposal which ultimately fell apart due to the need for a change in the law and support from the Office of Fair Trading A new strand was introduced at 3 25 pm every afternoon and was put in place under the name CITV s Telly Tots The in house presentation was dropped between 3 25 and 4 pm and replaced with a CGI animated town using a plane car and a post box as mascots A child voiceover was used to introduce its preschool shows Books and video tapes were introduced to tie in with the new strand 14 Further cuts took place again during 2002 which brought the total cutback to 25 of the overall budget 30 million less 15 Despite the cutbacks the ITC noted that CITV had a sustained an impressive schedule gave factual material a fresh look and continued to produce good dramas 16 Just after CITV celebrated its 20th birthday in January 2003 Janie Grace resigned from the post just before Nigel Pickard was named as ITV s new Director of Programmes 17 18 Pickard pledged to produce 80 more hours of children s programming in 2003 against a target of 520 hours in 2002 and extend the range of programmes to include more factual and topical programmes as well as more mixed entertainment and drama 19 Once again concerns about CITV and its structure were highlighted by Angus Fletcher president of Jim Henson Television Europe and Anne Wood founder of Ragdoll Productions as it could only earn money from a then unreliable advertising market unlike BBC Worldwide where the likes of Teletubbies Tweenies and Bob the Builder became key money earners for the corporation 17 Steven Andrew took over as ITV s controller of children and youth overseeing the merger of Carlton and Granada s children s departments Andrew also began looking at the possibility of launching a separate CITV channel which had previously been put on hold by budget cuts On screen various changes to the continuity presenting team saw no less than eight additions and replacements in the space of four years By 31 August 2004 all in vision continuity was replaced by a voice over while the newly formed ITV plc announced the closure of its presentation and transmission facilities in Birmingham signalling the end of CITV continuity from Central Presentation was fully relocated to Granada in Manchester by 1 November 2004 Further cuts took place in 2005 20 due to the perceived rising costs of original production the effects on advertising revenues following the ban by Ofcom on junk food advertising within children s schedules from 2007 21 22 and increasing competition from CBBC and countless other digital children s channels for new programmes especially imported cartoons typically from the United States In summer 2006 ITV closed down its in house children s production unit as part of ITV s then on going process of restructuring ITV Productions and blaming the closure on the competitive production environment though ITV denied any intention of ditching its children s programming from its network schedule 23 On 13 November 2006 CITV s weekday afternoon strand on the main ITV network permanently came to an end making the CITV channel which had launched earlier that year the main outlet for ITV s kids programming In July 2009 ITV announced it was the only channel to have an increased budget Emma Tennant the then controller of CITV told the Showcomotion conference that the commissioning budgets for all channels next year are going to be smaller except CITV which is growing but it will not necessarily spend the additional money on original commissions It was also made clear due to tight budgets it may just lead to more acquisitions rather than new programmes being commissioned 24 ITV simulcast 2006 2023 A simulcast of the CITV channel was broadcast on ITV during weekend mornings The final regular children s TV slot on ITV ITV1 STV ended just before 08 25 on Sunday 27 August 2023 The move comes 40 years and eight months after children s programmes on the ITV network were first brought under the Children s ITV brand 25 ITV2 programming block 2023 present On 2 September 2023 the morning after the closure of the CITV channel ITV2 launched a new breakfast time block from 5am to 9am everyday with shows featured on ITVX Kids on ITVX Currently this block seems to retain the CITV branding 26 27 The new children s strand replaces teleshopping and re runs of shows including World s Funniest Videos and Love Bites Kids shows featured on the new breakfast time block include Jurassic World Camp Cretaceous and Scooby Doo 25 CITV channelOriginal plans Plans for a standalone CITV channel were announced in 2001 but was axed when ITV lost 25 of its budget for CITV When Steven Andrew become controller of children and youth at ITV plc he stated that No kids strategy is complete without us being able to play in the cable and satellite world In fact we can t not do this and ultimately survive as a kids player in the future 28 In early 2004 ITV finally confirmed it was planning to launch a children s channel but as a joint venture Charles Allen chief executive of ITV plc did not believe in ITV creating a new channel as it was already an over populated market with talk being held with Nickelodeon and Disney 29 On 11 April 2005 ITV announced they had entered into a partnership with Nickelodeon to launch a free to air network dubbed INK ITV Nickelodeon Kids The venture would allow the two companies to share programmes across each other s networks 30 On 14 July 2005 it was announced that the venture would not go ahead and that ITV would instead go alone to launch a children s channel Both parties failed to agree on the exact structure of the new venture and how it would be branded with ITV saying We just got to the point of thinking that it was more sustainable for us to do it ourselves The deal fizzled out over a period of time Nickelodeon described the decision to end the talks as a mutual backing away 31 32 ITV officially announced their new channel in August although no launch window was announced it was announced that it would timeshare with ITV4 which was due to launch on November 1 33 On 16 December 2005 it was announced that the ITV News Channel which by then had downgraded its hours due to the launch of ITV4 would close down at the end of January 2006 to make way for the launch of the CITV channel in February 34 However ITV decided to change their mind and a few days later announced they had brought the closure forward to December 23 35 with the channel effectively ceasing operations that day Until February nothing played within the downtime of ITV4 Channel history The channel s launch was pushed back to 11 March in February 2006 as a result of problems clearing the digital rights to children s programming and comprehensive rebranding it was again pushed back by another four weeks 36 Promos for the channel began on 20 February including an online countdown clock running to the channel s launch date As had become standard for Freeview channel launches the channel was allocated an EPG number well before transmission started Initially a static coming soon graphic was shown followed by a preview video loop running from late February 2006 until the launch 37 The channel launched on 11 March 2006 at 9 25 am with a simulcast of Holly and Stephen s Saturday Showdown being the first program to air on the channel It initially launched on Freeview Channel 75 Homechoice now known as TalkTalk TV and Telewest Channel 734 and was added to Sky Channel 624 on 8 May 2006 and NTL Channel 76 602 on 6 June Additionally the channel simulcasts CITV Breakfast previously known as GMTV2 which was originally broadcast on ITV2 then ITV4 on weekdays between 6 am and 9 25 am The channel broadcast daily from 6 00am 6 00pm although throughout 2007 the channel ended broadcast at 12 30pm on weekends to make way for sports coverage on ITV4 38 On 5 February 2008 ITV4 extended its broadcast hours to broadcast around the clock As a consequence the CITV Channel moved to the multiplex space on Freeview originally held by ABC1 from English and Scottish transmitters and S4C from Welsh transmitters which meant that viewers of the latter were unable to receive the channel on Freeview unless they could receive transmissions from England On 2 November 2009 the channel was relaunched with a new logo and branding to match ITV1 as part of ITV plc s corporate look The channel s preschool strand was given a dramatic overhaul and renamed Mini CITV Mini CITV was hosted by a group of spacemen like beings called the Minis who oversee presentation items on the channel With the exception of weekends and holidays Mini CITV took up the majority of output on the channel for a few years though this was scaled back in 2012 On 9 January 2012 a change in the forward error correction mode on the multiplex allowed CITV to broadcast in Wales on Freeview On 21 December 2012 the channel aired its first live programme since 2006 a 45 minute CITV special of Text Santa ITV s Christmas charity appeal A year later a series of 10 minute programmes titled Help for Hattitude in aid of the above mentioned appeal was produced for the channel both programmes were produced in house by ITV Studios A new look was introduced on 14 January 2013 to coincide with ITV s corporate rebranding The channel adopted a yellowy orange logo with playful idents that burp and fart and do other things kids love 39 On the weekend of Saturday 5 and Sunday 6 January 2013 CITV celebrated its thirty years of service with a marathon of archive programming officially known as the Old Skool Weekend On 22 February 2016 CITV extended its on air hours the channel now finishes at 21 00 rather than the earlier 18 00 On 11 April 2021 CITV s weekend morning block Scrambled aired for the final time marking the end of in vision continuity on both CITV and ITV CITV would continue to air on ITV on weekend mornings On Monday 19 September 2022 due to the state funeral for Queen Elizabeth II normal programming was replaced by ITV London s feed 40 41 42 This was in contrast to CBBC 43 and CBeebies channels 43 Closure of the channel nbsp ITVX Kids logo Used since 22 July 2023 On 10 March 2023 ITV plc announced that it would close the CITV channel in the autumn with a phased migration of ITV s children s programming moving to ITVX Kids set to launch on 22 July on its streaming service ITVX 44 45 1 ITVX launched the ITVX Kids FAST channel on 12 July 2023 46 The CITV channel closed at 9 00pm on 1 September 2023 The last programme to air on the channel was an episode of The Rubbish World of Dave Spud titled Moonbreaker The channel then closed shortly afterwards with a loop informing its viewers that its content could now be seen on ITVX 47 ProgrammingMain article List of programmes broadcast by CITV Programming between 6 and 9 25 am was controlled by ITV Breakfast previously GMTV who having rebranded the vast majority of their GMTV children s output as CITV now use the space to simulcast their programming at weekends on the ITV network and CITV Breakfast on weekdays 48 ITV took over at 9 25 am controlling the rest of the day s programming When it first launched GMTV used to sell all the airtime for the channel making it the first ITV plc owned channel not to be sold by the in house sales team Airtime sales were taken back in house by ITV 49 Some of the channel s most notable programming has been specially commissioned by CITV such as Horrid Henry Mr Bean The Animated Series Grizzly Tales for Gruesome Kids Thunderbirds Are Go Oddbods and Sooty A number of other programmes are sourced from other broadcasters in the UK and around the world Programmes Featured On Current Block Featured on the block broadcast on ITV2 Dodo 2023 present weekends only 50 Scooby Doo Mystery Incorporated 2023 present 51 Craig of the Creek 2023 present 52 Teen Titans Go 2023 present 53 DC Super Hero Girls 2023 present 54 Looney Tunes Cartoons 2023 present 55 Be Cool Scooby Doo 2023 present What s New Scooby Doo 2023 present 56 Scooby Doo and Guess Who 2023 present The Epic Tales of Captain Underpants 2023 present weekdays only 57 Jurassic World Camp Cretaceous 2023 present weekdays only 58 Films Featured On Current Block Aloha Scooby Doo Chill Out Scooby Doo Big Top Scooby Doo Lego Scooby Doo Blowout Beach Bash Scooby Doo Abracadabra DooVideo gamesIn the mid 2000s CITV developed flash games including the Harry the Hamster series and trilogy where a bridge is built out of plastic pipes for Harry to cross the room in the first game of the series In Harry the Hamster 2 The Quest for the Golden Wheel he searches for eight pieces scattered around a network of plastic pipes and other pathways to build his hamster wheel while trying to avoid running out of energy Each collected piece refills the energy In the three dimensional game Harry the Hamster 3 Rolling Rodent he rolls through a garden inside a plastic ball and needs to stomp his enemies which include frogs spiders garden gnomes and wild rabbits Mini CITVMini CITV nbsp NetworkITV CITVCountry of originUnited KingdomFormatPreschool ProgrammingRunning time8 45 am 3 pm weekdays 6 am 7 25 am weekends and holidays Mini CITV which was launched on 2 November 2009 was the slot that housed CITV s preschool programming It was aimed at preschool children Between 2009 and 2012 Mini CITV was shown on weekdays in school term time between 8 45 am to 3 pm and on weekends and school holidays between 6 am to 7 25 am ITV broadcast Mini CITV on weekend mornings as well there was also a block called The Fluffy Club between 2008 and 2010 on weekend mornings that housed preschool programmes and featured a puppet baby chick in between programmes A series of little animated rabbit like characters called the Minis were the mascots of the strand similar to the bug mascots of its rival CBeebies On 7 January 2013 the Mini CITV name and the Mini mascots were dropped from on screen use and a year later on 7 January 2014 CITV removed all of its preschool programming from both its weekday and weekend schedules with the exception of Sooty which continued to broadcast until 3 September 2018 after which it started broadcasting on ITVBe s new preschool block LittleBe RatingsThe CITV channel launched with a full day average of 33 000 viewers and a 2 5 share of the child audience This put it ahead of other channels Cartoon Network 20 000 a 1 5 share Boomerang 28 000 a 2 1 share and Nickelodeon 26 000 a 2 0 share The channel peaked at 4 30 pm with Bratz gaining 51 000 viewers and a 3 6 share 59 The channel took a 0 2 audience share in its first week compared to CBBC 0 6 Cartoon Network 0 4 Boomerang 0 4 and CBeebies 1 4 Its overall ratings share for March 2006 was 0 1 by April 2006 this had risen to 0 2 0 3 followed in May In August 2006 the channel became the most popular commercial kids channel between 6 am and 6 pm 60 On 6 January 2013 the CITV channel received its highest viewing figures to date Danger Mouse which was shown as part of the Old Skool Weekend to celebrate CITV s 30th anniversary attracted 578 000 viewers 61 Footnotes At this point there was only one ITV channel in any given area transmitter overlap and split weekday weekend franchises aside and ITV was solely a generic collective name for the various regional commercial television stations References a b Thornham Marc 22 May 2023 ITVX Kids launch date announced RXTV info Retrieved 23 May 2023 CITV Children s TV channel will close in September following launch of ITVX Kids Sky News Retrieved 3 September 2023 Changes to ITV1 and ITV2 after CITV closure rxtvinfo Retrieved 4 September 2023 no title cited Television and Radio The Times 29 December 1980 full citation needed Gosling Kenneth 11 December 1980 ITV denies profligacy in programme deals The Times p 4 full citation needed Gosling Kenneth 21 January 1982 Donald Duck faces the cold shoulder from TV The Times p 12 a b Taylor Greg Wilson Jamie 12 June 2000 Watched It Children s ITV Presentation freespace virgin net Archived from the original on 8 April 2001 Retrieved 22 June 2013 CITV set for classic kids TV weekend BBC News 19 December 2012 Retrieved 22 June 2013 An unofficial history of children s BBC presentation Broom Cupboard Retrieved 22 June 2013 TV Times 30 May 5 June 1987 Issues P26 Gary and Debbie Welcomes you to Children s ITV McDonald Keith 22 February 2010 Children s ITV 1988 Knightmare Archived from the original on 1 January 2023 Retrieved 1 January 2023 Carlton regains CITV job Broadcast Now 18 June 1999 Retrieved 22 June 2013 Brown Maggie 1 November 2001 ITV kids shows at risk The Guardian Retrieved 22 June 2013 Brown Maggie 12 November 2001 Suffer the children The Guardian Retrieved 22 June 2013 Deans Jason 20 November 2001 BBC chief calls for strong CITV The Guardian Retrieved 22 June 2013 ITC Note Children s Television Ofcom Retrieved 22 June 2013 a b Children s TV CITV Winning custody of the children Broadcast Now 3 February 2003 Retrieved 22 June 2013 Granada Kids boss replaces Grace C21 Media 27 February 2003 Retrieved 22 June 2013 ITV puts colour back into kids Broadcast Now 29 January 2003 Retrieved 22 June 2013 Tough times for kids TV Broadcast Now 24 February 2005 Retrieved 22 June 2013 Sweney Mark 17 November 2006 Total ban for junk food ads around kids shows The Guardian Retrieved 22 June 2013 Harvey Jessica 22 February 2007 Ofcom to begin phasing out fast food ads during kids programmes caterersearch com Caterer and Hotelkeeper Retrieved 22 June 2013 Holmwood Leigh 20 June 2006 ITV to end kids TV production The Guardian Retrieved 22 June 2013 http www broadcastnow co uk citv bucks trend to grow budget 5003131 article CITV bucks trend to grow budget 2 July 2009 By Katherine Rushton a b Newsdesk1 RXTV 24 August 2023 Changes to ITV1 and ITV2 after CITV closure gt RXTV info Retrieved 3 September 2023 CITV on ITV2 Children s Block Launch 02 09 23 Retrieved 3 September 2023 via www youtube com THE FIRST CITV ON ITV2 HD 2nd September 2023 5 00am 9 00am Adverts and Continuity Retrieved 3 September 2023 via www youtube com Autumn launch for CiTV channel Broadcast 12 December 2003 Retrieved 22 June 2013 New kids channel planned by ITV Media Week 10 February 2004 Retrieved 22 June 2013 Brown Maggie 11 April 2005 ITV to launch kids channel with Nickelodeon The Guardian ISSN 0261 3077 Retrieved 5 June 2023 ITV kids channel set for autumn Broadcast 14 July 2005 Retrieved 22 June 2013 New kids plan for ITV ToyNews 29 July 2005 Archived from the original on 15 January 2013 Retrieved 22 June 2013 ITV to launch fta kids channel C21media Retrieved 5 June 2023 Conlan Tara 14 December 2005 ITV News Channel axed The Guardian ISSN 0261 3077 Retrieved 5 June 2023 ITV News Channel to close before Christmas The Guardian 19 December 2005 ISSN 0261 3077 Retrieved 5 June 2023 Brown Maggie 13 February 2006 Kidding Around Gets Serious The Guardian London Retrieved 13 February 2006 CITV Channel to Launch Archived from the original on 1 March 2006 Retrieved 28 February 2006 Part time channels whats the point 4 November 2007 Laughlin Andrew 16 November 2012 ITV1 to become ITV in major corporate rebrand Digital Spy Retrieved 17 December 2012 ITV confirms its plans for coverage of the state funeral for Her Majesty the Queen Itv Confirms Plans for the Queen s Funeral 19 September 2022 UK channels suspend broadcasts following Queen s death 8 September 2022 a b CBeebies Schedules Monday 19 September 2022 ITV to shutter its linear kidsnet and move content to ITVX Kidscreen Retrieved 11 March 2023 ITV announces closure of CITV in favour of streaming only children s content ITV 10 March 2023 Retrieved 30 April 2023 ITVX Kids ITVX 12 July 2023 Retrieved 12 July 2023 Thornham Marc 24 August 2023 Changes to ITV1 and ITV2 after CITV closure RXTV info Retrieved 2 September 2023 GMTV s Overall Strategy and Major Themes of the Year Archived from the original on 23 September 2006 Retrieved 30 January 2006 ITV Media Archived from the original on 4 August 2012 Retrieved 30 July 2019 Dodo Bits on ITV2 Sat 2 Sep 5 15am TV Guide UK TVGuide co uk TVGuide co uk Retrieved 3 September 2023 Scooby Doo Mystery Incorporated In Fear of the Phantom on ITV2 Fri 8 Sep 5 25am TVGuide co uk www tvguide co uk Retrieved 3 September 2023 Craig of the Creek ITV 2 8 September 2023 07 00 Teleboy Retrieved 3 September 2023 Teen Titans Go The Cast on ITV2 Sun 3 Sep 6 25am TVGuide co uk www tvguide co uk Retrieved 3 September 2023 DC Super Hero Girls AmBatgirl Part 1 on ITV2 Sat 2 Sep 6 50am TV Guide UK TVGuide co uk TVGuide co uk Retrieved 3 September 2023 Looney Tunes Cartoons Looney Tunes Cartoons Back to School Special on ITV2 Sat 2 Sep 7 30am TV Guide UK TVGuide co uk TVGuide co uk Retrieved 3 September 2023 What s New Scooby Doo There s No Creature Like Snow Creature on ITV2 Sat 2 Sep 8 10am TV Guide UK TVGuide co uk TVGuide co uk Retrieved 3 September 2023 https www tvguide co uk m detail 3847042 84870032 the epic tales of captain underpants https www tvguide co uk m detail 4288228 84869142 jurassic world camp cretaceous Timms Dominic 13 March 2006 ITV Ratings at Six Month Low The Guardian London Retrieved 13 March 2006 CITV Channel Celebrates First Birthday Digital Spy 13 March 2007 Retrieved 13 March 2007 Old Skool weekend draws CITV s biggest ever audience Broadcast 8 January 2013 Retrieved 23 May 2023 External linksITVX Kids on ITVX Children s shows on ITVX Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title CITV amp oldid 1180852968 CITV channel, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

article

, read, download, free, free download, mp3, video, mp4, 3gp, jpg, jpeg, gif, png, picture, music, song, movie, book, game, games.