Gala TV
Encyclopedia
Gala TV is a bingo channel in the United Kingdom
which launched on October 4, 2006 replacing Avago. The channel was due to be launched on September 13, 2006, but due to technical problems it was held back. Gala TV is produced by production company etv media group. As of April 1, 2011, Gala TV is only available via GalaBingo.com and no longer broadcasts on Sky channel 861.
Gala TV broadcasts 24 hours a day. AutoBingo runs throughout the day. Then live bingo runs from 5 pm to 1 am. Viewers can register on the website or by using a freephone telephone number. Players then use the website to purchase tickets for, and play, the bingo games.
In February 2007, Gala TV underwent a massive rebrand. The graphics, idents and adverts were completely changed. The studio also went a change with the new bingo display screen. The presenting style also changed with three presenters and two callers on each night meaning there could be two presenters in each hour. There was much more presenter and viewer interaction. The new Automated Service featuring a prerecorded caller was still being built, so the older automated service was run for a few more months. It eventually launched in July. On Friday and Saturdays in September and October, Gala TV moved their live hours to 5.30 pm to 1.30 am as a trial to see if the upcoming new hours would work.
The next change came in November 2007. A new game was introduced to the live schedule called the "Ultimate Flyer". This meant that there were now nine games in each hour. The presenting style also changed back to a slight more serious approach with some hours being led by only one presenter. Also Gala TV moved their live hours to 6 pm to 2 am after a successful trial in previous months.
In February 2008, another change to the studio took place. Two bubble lamps appeared either side of the screen. These have been removed as they constantly stopped working. These were replaced originally with two white tubes with backlights however after a month they were replaced with two tubes filled with bingo balls.
In June 2008, Gala TV and Gala Bingo launched the Live TV Bingo room where players could view the show live on their PCs as well as playing along with the games. Also players can chat with other players and also chat with the presenters and callers in the studio. Also around this time all the adverts and idents were remade in 3D and using a green screen effect on many of the adverts.
On Monday, 1 December 2008, Gala TV's daytime schedule underwent a massive change. Gala TV launched a new roulette product to be broadcast at several times throughout the day. Also Gala Casino's Poker Tour was broadcast twice during the daytime. The whole series was run through twice. In January this was removed from the daytime schedule due to poor viewing figures with more people opting to play bingo.
Sunday, 1 February 2009 saw the biggest change to date with a new production company ETV Media Group taking over from Endemol. The live studio moved to Battersea Studios in London with the set being a mix of real and virtual with a significantly improved level of presentation. Each night there are two presenters and two callers. There is now much more interaction with the viewer by the use of player walls and maps. The virtual set was dark with a sunset scene in the background. The virtual graphics solution was provided by RT Software. All of the adverts were refreshed as well with some being made by professional companies and presenters.
On Tuesday, 2 March 2009, Gala TV went online 24 hours a day. Due to this all Gala Casino related programs were scrapped in order for non stop 24 hour bingo. Gala Roulette only lasted three months.
In June 2009, Gala TV started broadcasting on High Street TV in order to advertise the channel lower down on the sky platform. The show broadcasts in widescreen from 11 pm to 7 am daily. This only lasted three weeks as High Street TV broadcast other shopping TV promotions on the channel.
On Monday, 4 January 2010, after a number of requests by Gala TV players, the live show was moved back to 5 pm to 1 am, meaning that players could enjoy live bingo one hour earlier. Another reason for the move was the number of people playing originally in the 1 am hour was low.
Since Friday, 1 April 2011, Gala TV has only been available via GalaBingo.com and no longer broadcasts on Sky channel 861.
Gala TV Automated Bingo is the traditional standard 90 ball game. Games played include Double Bubble, Bargain, BOGOF and Cresendo. Gala TV used to run a 75 Ball alternative bingo game called Barmey Bingo however when the new look launched this was scrapped from the channel.
Gala TV showed two runs of the Great British Poker Tour in December 2008. This has now been removed from the channel and replaced with Automated Bingo. Also Mirada created a Roulette product for Gala TV. As of 2 March this was removed so as to return to the 24-hour bingo format preferred by the new production company.
Gala TV is owned by Gala Bingo (Gala Coral Group)
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
which launched on October 4, 2006 replacing Avago. The channel was due to be launched on September 13, 2006, but due to technical problems it was held back. Gala TV is produced by production company etv media group. As of April 1, 2011, Gala TV is only available via GalaBingo.com and no longer broadcasts on Sky channel 861.
Gala TV broadcasts 24 hours a day. AutoBingo runs throughout the day. Then live bingo runs from 5 pm to 1 am. Viewers can register on the website or by using a freephone telephone number. Players then use the website to purchase tickets for, and play, the bingo games.
History
When Gala TV first launched, it was produced by Endemol West and the live studio was located in Bristol with the automated service playout based at Wapping Studios in London. At the time, Gala TV had a very classic approach to the channel. They had a team of five presenters and seven callers. The studio was real and had a cold and classic feel and there was also no interaction with the viewers. Also most of the presenting was done by one presenter. At this point Gala TV broadcast live from 5 pm to 1 am.In February 2007, Gala TV underwent a massive rebrand. The graphics, idents and adverts were completely changed. The studio also went a change with the new bingo display screen. The presenting style also changed with three presenters and two callers on each night meaning there could be two presenters in each hour. There was much more presenter and viewer interaction. The new Automated Service featuring a prerecorded caller was still being built, so the older automated service was run for a few more months. It eventually launched in July. On Friday and Saturdays in September and October, Gala TV moved their live hours to 5.30 pm to 1.30 am as a trial to see if the upcoming new hours would work.
The next change came in November 2007. A new game was introduced to the live schedule called the "Ultimate Flyer". This meant that there were now nine games in each hour. The presenting style also changed back to a slight more serious approach with some hours being led by only one presenter. Also Gala TV moved their live hours to 6 pm to 2 am after a successful trial in previous months.
In February 2008, another change to the studio took place. Two bubble lamps appeared either side of the screen. These have been removed as they constantly stopped working. These were replaced originally with two white tubes with backlights however after a month they were replaced with two tubes filled with bingo balls.
In June 2008, Gala TV and Gala Bingo launched the Live TV Bingo room where players could view the show live on their PCs as well as playing along with the games. Also players can chat with other players and also chat with the presenters and callers in the studio. Also around this time all the adverts and idents were remade in 3D and using a green screen effect on many of the adverts.
On Monday, 1 December 2008, Gala TV's daytime schedule underwent a massive change. Gala TV launched a new roulette product to be broadcast at several times throughout the day. Also Gala Casino's Poker Tour was broadcast twice during the daytime. The whole series was run through twice. In January this was removed from the daytime schedule due to poor viewing figures with more people opting to play bingo.
Sunday, 1 February 2009 saw the biggest change to date with a new production company ETV Media Group taking over from Endemol. The live studio moved to Battersea Studios in London with the set being a mix of real and virtual with a significantly improved level of presentation. Each night there are two presenters and two callers. There is now much more interaction with the viewer by the use of player walls and maps. The virtual set was dark with a sunset scene in the background. The virtual graphics solution was provided by RT Software. All of the adverts were refreshed as well with some being made by professional companies and presenters.
On Tuesday, 2 March 2009, Gala TV went online 24 hours a day. Due to this all Gala Casino related programs were scrapped in order for non stop 24 hour bingo. Gala Roulette only lasted three months.
In June 2009, Gala TV started broadcasting on High Street TV in order to advertise the channel lower down on the sky platform. The show broadcasts in widescreen from 11 pm to 7 am daily. This only lasted three weeks as High Street TV broadcast other shopping TV promotions on the channel.
On Monday, 4 January 2010, after a number of requests by Gala TV players, the live show was moved back to 5 pm to 1 am, meaning that players could enjoy live bingo one hour earlier. Another reason for the move was the number of people playing originally in the 1 am hour was low.
Since Friday, 1 April 2011, Gala TV has only been available via GalaBingo.com and no longer broadcasts on Sky channel 861.
Live Bingo
The Live show of Gala TV is broadcast from Battersea Studios in London from 5 pm to 1 am each night. The evening used to be split up into three sessions: Early, Main & Late just like in the landbase clubs. However this was slowly retired when ETV took over the channel. Each of the different hours that broadcast also include several jackpot games including Spotlight Flyer, Ultimate Flyer and a Top of the Bill. The biggest jackpot game is played in the 11pm hour which is the Grande Finale which has a £1000 full house.Daytime on Gala TV
Gala TV broadcasts various gaming products throughout the day. Most of the output is of Gala TV's Automated bingo service. Gala TV has had three automated services during its time. The current Automated service is done in the virtual studio that the live show is from. The previous automated service was a yellow background with a caller. The original automated service was a very basic system where numbers simply appeared on the screen without any caller.Gala TV Automated Bingo is the traditional standard 90 ball game. Games played include Double Bubble, Bargain, BOGOF and Cresendo. Gala TV used to run a 75 Ball alternative bingo game called Barmey Bingo however when the new look launched this was scrapped from the channel.
Gala TV showed two runs of the Great British Poker Tour in December 2008. This has now been removed from the channel and replaced with Automated Bingo. Also Mirada created a Roulette product for Gala TV. As of 2 March this was removed so as to return to the 24-hour bingo format preferred by the new production company.
Games
Here is a full list of the current games played out each night on Gala TV.- Nifty Fifty - All prizes worth £50
- High Flyer - Same sort of game as the Top of the Bill except its played halfway through an hour
- Spotlight Flyer - Standard game of bingo with an attached jackpot. Call Full house in 45 numbers or less to win this.
- BOGOF - Buy One Ticket, Get another Free.
- Bargain - 5p Value Game
- Ultimate Flyer - Standard game of bingo. Call a full house on a double number to double the full house prize.
- Top of the Bill - Big Money Game.
- Grand Finale - Biggest game of the night. £1,000 Full House prize.
- Cresendo - Automated Game Only. A Big Money Game similar to Top of the Bill.
- Double Bubble - Automated Game Only. Same as BOGOF except this is 10p per ticket and not 15p like BOGOF.
Featured promotions
Throughout the week on Gala TV. There are special promotions running most days. This is a list of the regular featured promotions that are played on Gala TV.- Gala 500 - Full House prizes of £500
- The One - Tickets are only 1p
- Tasty Two - Tickets are only 2p
- Ultimate Bargains - A session devoted to only Bargain Bingo & Ultimate Flyers
- Bingo 123 - One Line is £100, Two lines for £200 and the Full House for £300
- Noughty Bingo - The fullhouse prize is £50 plus the last number called multiplied by 10 (so prize will be between 60 and 950)
- Free Bingo - 30 free tickets. Played on the hour every hour on Thursdays
- Twenty Twenty - 20p per ticket, 20 ticket maximum
Presenters and callers
- Mike Mason
- Yasmin Khan
- Abby Surgeon
- Cat Porter
- Katy PullingerKaty PullingerKaty Pullinger is a British television presenter . She has presented live television for over three years including ITV Play's Glitterball, on which she made her last appearance in August...
- Ben HullBen Hull-Career:Ben's first appearance was in 1994 when he appeared ITV Drama, Revelations.He then went on to appear as Martin Wells in Children's ITV series Children's Ward....
- Chris ParkerChristopher ParkerChristopher Parker is an English actor and television presenter.- Early career :Christopher Parker’s career began at an early age as a model appearing in print campaigns and TV commercials. . He progressed onto small roles in TV dramas such as The Bill, London's Burning and Judge John Deed...
- Kevin DualaKevin DualaKevin Duala is a British television presenter from Liverpool, Merseyside. He is a trained teacher in all aspects of Dance, Drama and Physical Education who is fluent in German and Spanish....
- Brett Hyrjak
- Peter Winterton
- Hayley Goucher
- Mike Barnes
- Lisa Celisse
- Michael Farley
- Lorna Lewis
- Keyth Rickards
Former presenters and callers
- Brian Gillatt
- Charlie McArdle
- Yiannis Morgan
- Dave O Reilly
- Opal Bonfante
- Yemi Sawyer
- Kat Camsey
- Anthony Heywood
- Nathan Marley
- Tim Fornara
- Olivia Kennard
- Cesca Martin
- Cat Cubie
- Lisa Brash
- Pollyanna Woodward
- Lisa Hanlon
- Carmel Thomas
- Peter Carlisle
- Ian Carrol
- Melanie Ceazer
Links
Gala TV is owned by Gala Bingo (Gala Coral Group)