[fanoftv]

From the schedules it looks like a normal day. For many it’s the first day back to work and school, something that the last two big anniversaries didn’t have - 2003 was a Bank Holiday Monday and 2013 was during a weekend.

CITV always feels like it’s not loved by ITV, look at how it wasn’t included in the recent rebranding (though some have said it may happen in the New Year). Long gone are the days of in vision presenters and even out of vision continuity, now even most trailers say that a programme is “on CITV” with no details of time, etc.

Thankfully the government support has meant that some original programmes are getting made for the channel, but it’s inferior to what it used to be.

[Neil Jones]

From the schedules it looks like a normal day. For many it’s the first day back to work and school, something that the last two big anniversaries didn’t have - 2003 was a Bank Holiday Monday and 2013 was during a weekend.

CITV always feels like it’s not loved by ITV, look at how it wasn’t included in the recent rebranding (though some have said it may happen in the New Year). Long gone are the days of in vision presenters and even out of vision continuity, now even most trailers say that a programme is “on CITV” with no details of time, etc.

Thankfully the government support has meant that some original programmes are getting made for the channel, but it’s inferior to what it used to be.

Well there is more competition around these days and lets be fair the requirements for the service on the main channel have dwindled to seven hours a week (weekend mornings), with occasional bursts of "extra" dotted throughout the year, mainly at Christmas. They used to knock out about 500 minutes of output a week back in the 1980s/1990s/early 2000s, just on the weekday afternoons alone, typically 3:30-5:10 which varied a bit over the years, then if you add in all the Saturday morning programmes and what they used to do on Sundays (Disney Club and what not), that's probably another 5hrs or so a week (less commercials of course!)

But of course they had a relatively captive audience and it was worth spending the money. These days? Not so much. CBBC (and to an extent CBeebies) is probably one of the last bastions of live/in-vision continuity now (as is Milkshake I believe) for the target audience and I'm surprised its lasted this long. Yes it isn't live all day, it never has been (save for maybe on launch day) but I suppose Auntie can argue it makes it distinctive, 'cus no other bugger's doing it.

CITV will never be the same again as it used to be; it can't be. The current look I think has already been said has been around for best part of a decade, which has outlived pretty much every other look they've ever had by some considerable margin. 30 years ago a new look was only no more than 18 months away on average, until we get to 1993 and two long lived looks, then a more varied period and what we have now.

[Allanbuzzy]

If I'm being honest, the idea of CITV being unloved rings very true when you see they were the only children's channel to broadcast the Queen's Funeral. It's like ITV sees it as a chore.

The closure of the ITV Children's Productions division in 2006 didn't really help matters either. I don't think it's as if ITV doesn't care about children's content now, given the launch of ITVX and it's kids mode, plus some of it's recent productions, but the channel itself seems unloved.

[JAS84]

There's another reason not to celebrate the anniversary. The prototypes for the rebrand didn't have CITV, they had ITV Kids. If they're changing the name, then clearly they're not in a mood to celebrate the current brand's longevity.

[cable]

they could have shortened the broadcast hours (cbbc went back to 7pm) but they are still persisting until 9pm. Perhaps the future lies with the ITV Kids brand with all kids content past and present existing on the kids section of itvx. it would be a bit like when cbbc launched and they have old series.

They could close the TV channel on all platforms and have it all on a 24 hour FAST channel, its HD after all.

[Ballinagrappa]

Virgin Media One in Ireland broadcast "The Story of SMTV Live" the other day. Not sure if SMTV Live or CD:UK ever got broadcast on RTÉ or Virgin Media's predecessor, TV3?

[Jon]

Virgin Media One in Ireland broadcast "The Story of SMTV Live" the other day. Not sure if SMTV Live or CD:UK ever got broadcast on RTÉ or Virgin Media's predecessor, TV3?

Well no doubt people will have watched it on UTV in the Republic.

[gottago]

Thankfully the government support has meant that some original programmes are getting made for the channel, but it’s inferior to what it used to be.

Fyi that support programme ended in February.

[fanoftv]

Thankfully the government support has meant that some original programmes are getting made for the channel, but it’s inferior to what it used to be.

Fyi that support programme ended in February.

Thank you for that. So they must have seen a good audience for the likes of How and Makeaway Takeaway to recommission.

[Neil Jones]

they could have shortened the broadcast hours (cbbc went back to 7pm) but they are still persisting until 9pm. Perhaps the future lies with the ITV Kids brand with all kids content past and present existing on the kids section of itvx. it would be a bit like when cbbc launched and they have old series.

Must be noted that the decision to move back to a 7pm finish probably wasn't CBBC's decision to make.
And of course many other children's channels are pretty much 24/7 now, so its sort of a halfway house.

As for "old series", yeah we've had this discussion. The Old Skool weekend thing was their best viewership of practically all time, but its a given that it would have tailed off and dropped to some unsustainable level viewership wise had it continued, and it would have been replaced with another repeat of Horrid Henry or whatever.

Anyway I'd suspect there are are more complicated issues around shoving "all kids content past and present" on ITVx. It will probably cost money at the very least, and of course ITV don't actually own a lot of it anyway (going back to the earlier discussion, Art Attack on ITVx won't be an option without chucking a load of money at Disney).