ITV Nightscreen
Encyclopedia
ITV Nightscreen is a scheduled programme on the United Kingdom
's ITV
television network, consisting of a sequence of animated pages of information about ITV's upcoming programmes, features and special events, with an easy listening
music soundtrack. The programme is used to fill the station's overnight downtime, where a closedown would have once been used at the end of programmes. It begins after the final programme in the night and finishes at 05:30 every day.
It was first broadcast in 1998, and consisted of teletext
pages taken from the ITV regional teletext services, with interstitial teletext-based animations in a similar style to the former 4-Tel On View
, which had also been produced by the Intelfax). Since 2003 the screens have been produced using Scala InfoChannel3. In early 2009, updated systems were installed with the latest version of Scala5, with a dual redundant system to counter any issues of service.
Nightscreen has, in the past, been criticised for highlighting programmes which had already aired, and for some careless typing and spelling errors but now regularly avoids doing this. As well as providing focus on upcoming programmes, films and TV listings, it also offers some news from the world of entertainment. In the past it also offered sports news and even on some occasions cooking tips, recipes and also fact files of characters from famous ITV shows like Emmerdale
and Coronation Street
.
The Scala system was provided by Beaver Group
, and the programme is currently produced by Gower Creative Communications.
screens had been employed by BBC Television
and Channel 4
since the early 1980s to fill airtime cheaply. Although in-vision teletext was only ever occasionally used on the ITV network (including an Oracle-provided service preceding TV-am
broadcasts known as "Daybreak" during the 1980s), certain regions, firstly Central Independent Television
from April 1986 followed by Yorkshire Television
from January 1987 started showing overnight teletext sequences containing details of local job vacancies under the title Jobfinder and these pages were broadcast for an hour after the end of regular programming ended. When 24-hour television began in 1988, the majority of ITV regions broadcast a "Jobfinder" programme in the hour preceeding the ITN Morning News which began at 05:00.
ITV Nightscreens origins can also be found in a programme simply titled Freescreen, which was made and screened by Meridian Broadcasting
in its early years. The Meridian version mixed the teletext pages with local news stories and short videos made and sent in by viewers.
channel (ITV1
and UTV
) starting from where the last program finishes and ending at 05:30. ITV2
often broadcasts the filler starting at around 05:00 and ending at 06:00. Its availability on ITV3
and ITV4
is dependent on how much unused time is left, and can sometimes last for as little as five minutes on ITV3 and ITV4 (as teleshopping is shown on ITV3 and ITV4 between 03:00 and 06:00). Although not an ITV-branded channel, ITV's now-defunct Men & Motors
channel would in its later years carry the filler from the close of programming until 06:00; between 06:00 and the start of programmes at 11:00, M&M would broadcast an animated caption card or teleshopping presentations.
In its early years, Nightscreen would take up most of the early morning schedule, often starting at 02:00 or 03:00 and finishing before the ITV News at 5:30.
In December 2005, three months before the now defunct ITV Play
began transmitting, a quiz show entitled Quizmania
began broadcasting in the early hours on ITV. Subsequent programmes that followed were The Mint
, Make Your Play
and Glitterball
. This resulted in Nightscreen being pushed back to just a half hour service between 05:00 and 05:30.
In 2008, largely as a result of widespread scandal surrounding phone-ins, ITV Play was permanently axed, since when Nightscreen now regularly runs from around 04:00. Channel Television
runs its own version of the service entitled Channel Nightscreen consisting of local news headlines and programming information.
In April 2010, STV launched its own Scottish night-time service, The Nightshift
, broadcast in the STV Central
region and consisting of programming highlights, news, competitions and viewers texts & emails read out by a live out-of-vision presenter. STV North
continued to broadcast ITV Nightscreen until July 2010, when The Nightshift was extended to the North region. The programme includes regional news opt-outs for the four STV sub-regions: Aberdeen & the North, Dundee & Tayside, Edinburgh & the East and Glasgow & the West.
In mid 2010, ITV started airing The Zone
for 2 hours, a programme block featuring shopping strands from QVC
and gaming features from Challenge Jackpot
, usually airing from 00:30 to 02:30, leaving Nightscreen often cut back to as little as an hour and sometimes removed from ITV1's schedule altogether.
late at night, most commonly at the weekend but occasionally during the week. Broadcasts on BBC One
ceased in November 1997 when BBC News
was launched as BBC1 carries BBC News as an overnight filler. However, occasional Ceefax broadcasts can still be seen on BBC1 Scotland. This usually broadcasts from 03:30 (or just after), ending at 06:00.
RTÉ Aertel
A similar filler to ITV Nightscreen was also provided by RTÉ, who currently uses this to fill airtime cheaply on RTÉ Two. It is very similar in fashion to ITV Nightscreen as it provides rolling teletext pages while RTÉ Two is not broadcasting. It has been criticised by many FAI League of Ireland fans who have dubbed the service "Errortel" due to the constant inaccurcies, delays & incorrect information with live scoring and reporting of games.
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...
's ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
television network, consisting of a sequence of animated pages of information about ITV's upcoming programmes, features and special events, with an easy listening
Easy listening
Easy listening is a broad style of popular music and radio format that emerged in the 1950s, evolving out of big band music, and related to MOR music as played on many AM radio stations. It encompasses the exotica, beautiful music, light music, lounge music, ambient music, and space age pop genres...
music soundtrack. The programme is used to fill the station's overnight downtime, where a closedown would have once been used at the end of programmes. It begins after the final programme in the night and finishes at 05:30 every day.
It was first broadcast in 1998, and consisted of teletext
Teletext
Teletext is a television information retrieval service developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s. It offers a range of text-based information, typically including national, international and sporting news, weather and TV schedules...
pages taken from the ITV regional teletext services, with interstitial teletext-based animations in a similar style to the former 4-Tel On View
FourText
FourText was the British Channel 4's ancillary teletext service from 1982 until 2003.-Content:FourText provided listings and information about Channel 4's programmes, such as previews of programmes and further information related to the programmes...
, which had also been produced by the Intelfax). Since 2003 the screens have been produced using Scala InfoChannel3. In early 2009, updated systems were installed with the latest version of Scala5, with a dual redundant system to counter any issues of service.
Nightscreen has, in the past, been criticised for highlighting programmes which had already aired, and for some careless typing and spelling errors but now regularly avoids doing this. As well as providing focus on upcoming programmes, films and TV listings, it also offers some news from the world of entertainment. In the past it also offered sports news and even on some occasions cooking tips, recipes and also fact files of characters from famous ITV shows like Emmerdale
Emmerdale
Emmerdale, is a long-running British soap opera set in Emmerdale , a fictional village in the Yorkshire Dales. Created by Kevin Laffan, Emmerdale was first broadcast on 16 October 1972...
and Coronation Street
Coronation Street
Coronation Street is a British soap opera set in Weatherfield, a fictional town in Greater Manchester based on Salford. Created by Tony Warren, Coronation Street was first broadcast on 9 December 1960...
.
The Scala system was provided by Beaver Group
Beaver Group
Beaver Group is an organization whose focus is the delivery of digital signage, graphic design and web design. Beaver Group is made up of two companies, Beaver Design and Beaver Solutions , plus a sister company Signature Digital Menus .Beaver Group clients are spread between local and...
, and the programme is currently produced by Gower Creative Communications.
Origins
TeletextTeletext Ltd.
Teletext Ltd was the provider of teletext and digital interactive services for ITV, Channel 4 and Five in the United Kingdom.-Origins:Teletext Ltd started providing teletext services for ITV and Channel 4 on 1 January 1993, replacing the previous Oracle service which had lost the franchise...
screens had been employed by BBC Television
BBC Television
BBC Television is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation. The corporation, which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927, has produced television programmes from its own studios since 1932, although the start of its regular service of television...
and Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
since the early 1980s to fill airtime cheaply. Although in-vision teletext was only ever occasionally used on the ITV network (including an Oracle-provided service preceding TV-am
TV-am
TV-am was a breakfast television station that broadcast to the United Kingdom from 1 February 1983 to 31 December 1992. It made history by being the first national operator of a commercial television franchise at breakfast-time , and broadcast every day of the week for most or all of the period...
broadcasts known as "Daybreak" during the 1980s), certain regions, firstly Central Independent Television
Central Independent Television
Central Independent Television, more commonly known as Central is the Independent Television contractor for the Midlands, created following the restructuring of ATV and commencing broadcast on 1 January 1982. The station is owned and operated by ITV plc, under the licensee of ITV Broadcasting...
from April 1986 followed by Yorkshire Television
Yorkshire Television
Yorkshire Television, now officially known as ITV Yorkshire and sometimes unofficially abbreviated to YTV, is a British television broadcaster and the contractor for the Yorkshire franchise area on the ITV network...
from January 1987 started showing overnight teletext sequences containing details of local job vacancies under the title Jobfinder and these pages were broadcast for an hour after the end of regular programming ended. When 24-hour television began in 1988, the majority of ITV regions broadcast a "Jobfinder" programme in the hour preceeding the ITN Morning News which began at 05:00.
ITV Nightscreens origins can also be found in a programme simply titled Freescreen, which was made and screened by Meridian Broadcasting
Meridian Broadcasting
Meridian Broadcasting is the holder of the ITV franchise for the South and South East of England. The station is owned and operated by ITV plc, under the licensee of ITV Broadcasting Limited....
in its early years. The Meridian version mixed the teletext pages with local news stories and short videos made and sent in by viewers.
Broadcasts
ITV Nightscreen is broadcast on the main ITVITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
channel (ITV1
ITV1
ITV1 is a generic brand that is used by twelve franchises of the British ITV Network in the English regions, Wales, southern Scotland , the Isle of Man and the Bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey. The ITV1 brand was introduced by Carlton and Granada in 2001, alongside the regional identities of their...
and UTV
UTV
UTV is a television channel based in the UK region of Northern Ireland. The channel is the Channel 3 or Independent Television licensee for Northern Ireland and is operated by UTV Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of UTV Media.- Terrestrial :* Analogue: Normally tuned to 3 * Freeview : 3...
) starting from where the last program finishes and ending at 05:30. ITV2
ITV2
ITV2 is a 24 hour, free-to-air entertainment television channel in the United Kingdom owned by ITV Digital Channels Ltd, a division of ITV plc. It was launched on 7 December 1998, and is available on digital television via satellite, cable, IPTV and terrestrial platforms. The channel has the...
often broadcasts the filler starting at around 05:00 and ending at 06:00. Its availability on ITV3
ITV3
ITV3 is an entertainment television channel in the United Kingdom that is owned by ITV Digital Channels Ltd, a division of ITV plc. The channel was launched on 1 November 2004. ITV3 is the second largest UK multi-channel, second only to ITV2.-History:...
and ITV4
ITV4
ITV4 is a British television station which was launched on 1 November 2005. It is owned by ITV Digital Channels Ltd, a division of ITV plc, and is part of the ITV network. The channel has a male-oriented line-up, including sport, cop shows and US comedies and dramas, as well as classic ITV action...
is dependent on how much unused time is left, and can sometimes last for as little as five minutes on ITV3 and ITV4 (as teleshopping is shown on ITV3 and ITV4 between 03:00 and 06:00). Although not an ITV-branded channel, ITV's now-defunct Men & Motors
Men & Motors
Men & Motors was a men's lifestyle television channel in the UK. It was the last remaining station operated by the former Granada Sky Broadcasting joint venture, set up by Granada Television and satellite broadcaster British Sky Broadcasting in 1996...
channel would in its later years carry the filler from the close of programming until 06:00; between 06:00 and the start of programmes at 11:00, M&M would broadcast an animated caption card or teleshopping presentations.
In its early years, Nightscreen would take up most of the early morning schedule, often starting at 02:00 or 03:00 and finishing before the ITV News at 5:30.
In December 2005, three months before the now defunct ITV Play
ITV Play
ITV Play was a 24/7 participation television channel in the United Kingdom owned by ITV plc. The ITV Play name continued on the ITV Network until December 2007....
began transmitting, a quiz show entitled Quizmania
Quizmania
Quizmania was a popular British interactive gameshow. The show was devised by Chuck Thomas, Debbie King, and Simone Thorogood and produced by Fremantle Media for Information TV and ITV . Currently, the online revival is produced by Screen Pop Ltd. in association with Illumina Digital...
began broadcasting in the early hours on ITV. Subsequent programmes that followed were The Mint
The Mint (game show)
The Mint was a live, late night, interactive quiz show with celebrity guests and live studio contestants filmed in a large extravagant set designed to look like the inside of a mansion. The programme, which was dogged by criticism that its questions were ambiguous and arbitrary, aired on ITV and...
, Make Your Play
Make Your Play
Make Your Play was a live, interactive quiz show, showing in the UK on the ITV Network, from Monday to Saturday, beginning after midnight. The show was launched on Friday September 29, 2006 on ITV and ITV Play....
and Glitterball
Glitterball
Glitterball was a live, late night, interactive television quiz show in the United Kingdom. It was broadcast under the ITV Play branding on ITV a few nights a week from around midnight , and from 1.00am on ITV2. The show launched on 19 February 2007. Both Glitterball and Make Your Play alternated...
. This resulted in Nightscreen being pushed back to just a half hour service between 05:00 and 05:30.
In 2008, largely as a result of widespread scandal surrounding phone-ins, ITV Play was permanently axed, since when Nightscreen now regularly runs from around 04:00. Channel Television
Channel Television
Channel Television is a British television station which has served as an Independent Television contractor to the Channel Islands since 1962. It is based in Jersey...
runs its own version of the service entitled Channel Nightscreen consisting of local news headlines and programming information.
In April 2010, STV launched its own Scottish night-time service, The Nightshift
The Nightshift
The Nightshift is an overnight regional television programme broadcast on STV in Northern and Central Scotland.The service, broadcast live from STV's transmission control centre at Pacific Quay in Glasgow, features highlights of archived STV programmes, STV News & ITV News bulletins, showbiz news...
, broadcast in the STV Central
Scottish Television
Scottish Television is Scotland's largest ITV franchisee, and has held the ITV franchise for Central Scotland since 31 August 1957. It is the second oldest ITV franchisee still active...
region and consisting of programming highlights, news, competitions and viewers texts & emails read out by a live out-of-vision presenter. STV North
Grampian Television
Grampian Television is the ITV franchisee for the North and North East of Scotland. Its coverage area includes the Scottish Highlands , Inverness, Aberdeen, Dundee and parts of north Fife...
continued to broadcast ITV Nightscreen until July 2010, when The Nightshift was extended to the North region. The programme includes regional news opt-outs for the four STV sub-regions: Aberdeen & the North, Dundee & Tayside, Edinburgh & the East and Glasgow & the West.
In mid 2010, ITV started airing The Zone
The Zone (ITV)
The Zone is the name given to the strand of shopping and gaming programming on ITV1 and a television channel available on Freeview. The programme is an interactive home shopping and gaming show, featuring items from QVC up for sale, with gaming segments from Jackpot247...
for 2 hours, a programme block featuring shopping strands from QVC
QVC
QVC is a multinational corporation specializing in televised home shopping. Founded in 1986 by Joseph Segel in West Goshen Township, Pennsylvania, United States, QVC broadcasts in five countries as QVC US, QVC UK, QVC Germany, QVC Japan and – QVC Italy to 200 million households...
and gaming features from Challenge Jackpot
Challenge Jackpot
Jackpot247 is an interactive gambling website owned by NetPlayTV plc, with television segments on ITV1's The Zone, Super Casino and Vox Africa. The "Challenge Jackpot" brand was dropped in September 2011 and replaced by "Jackpot247"...
, usually airing from 00:30 to 02:30, leaving Nightscreen often cut back to as little as an hour and sometimes removed from ITV1's schedule altogether.
Pages from Ceefax
Ceefax is the BBC's teletext information service transmitted via the analogue signal, started in 1974 and will run until April 2012. As of 2011, in-vision Ceefax broadcasts are shown on BBC TwoBBC Two
BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...
late at night, most commonly at the weekend but occasionally during the week. Broadcasts on BBC One
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
ceased in November 1997 when BBC News
BBC News
BBC News is the department of the British Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs. The department is the world's largest broadcast news organisation and generates about 120 hours of radio and television output each day, as well as online...
was launched as BBC1 carries BBC News as an overnight filler. However, occasional Ceefax broadcasts can still be seen on BBC1 Scotland. This usually broadcasts from 03:30 (or just after), ending at 06:00.
RTÉ AertelRTÉ AertelRTÉ Aertel is a teletext service broadcast on RTÉ One and RTÉ Two in the Republic of Ireland, and also available in its entirety on the Internet....
A similar filler to ITV Nightscreen was also provided by RTÉ, who currently uses this to fill airtime cheaply on RTÉ Two. It is very similar in fashion to ITV Nightscreen as it provides rolling teletext pages while RTÉ Two is not broadcasting. It has been criticised by many FAI League of Ireland fans who have dubbed the service "Errortel" due to the constant inaccurcies, delays & incorrect information with live scoring and reporting of games.Defunct
- 4-Tel On View: Used by Channel 4 as a cheap filler for airtime. Originally broadcast between 13:00 and 16:15, this was soon changed to airing between 10:00 and 13:45, and in 1989 it was reduced to a 40 minute slot between 05:20 and 06:00 as breakfast television was introduced on Channel 4. It was removed from airing in January 1997.
- Oracle on View: Was aired sometimes during 4-Tel On View slots on Channel 4. It stopped on 31 December 1992 because the license expired.
- S4C Closedown Screen: Was a program which ran for 10 minutes after closedown and for 10 minutes before startup. Phased out in late-2000s.