AFTER 17 years of broadcasting into living rooms across the country, viewers will say goodbye to CITV.
The cult children’s channel will close later today to make way for ITV’s new children’s streaming service ITVX Kids.
5
CITV will go off air at 9pm tonight and fans are left heartbrokenCredit: ITV
5
Holly Willoughby and Stephen Mulhern were the first presenters to appear on the channel in 2006 with Saturday ShowdownCredit: Rex
According to TV Zone UK, CITV will close at 9pm tonight, following its final day of broadcasting.
In a statement via Sky News, ITV said the decision to close the channel came as a result of falling ratings.
Fans were left devastated by the commercial network’s move and took to social media in droves to pay their respects.
One fan said: “It’s a shame CITV closes for the last time at 9pm tonight.”
Another noted: “Today is a sad day for us nostalgics.”
“I was a CITV kid and proud of it. What a shame,” remarked a third.
A fourth user said: “I’m very sad. We’re saying goodbye to CITV today.”
Meanwhile, a fifth wrote: “Last day #CITV End of an era [broken hearts and crying emojis].”
And the sixth added: “Even today I am not ready to say goodbye to CiTV after 40 years.”
The statement said: “As a consequence of this new approach to streaming and in response to the changing ways in which children and their parents are increasingly accessing content, the CITV broadcast channel will close after the summer holidays on 1 September.”
Craig Morris, who is editor-in-chief of ITVX, also released a statement regarding the decision to close.
He said: “We’re really excited to launch this dedicated children’s destination on ITVX, which will be home to a wealth of content including new series, iconic brands and existing favorites for different ages, all in one kid-safe space, with editorial picks for directing the gaze.”
The idea of CITV was originally launched in 1983, as a late afternoon programming block on the ITV network aimed at five to 13 year olds.
However, the channel appeared for the first time in 2006 with the show Saturday Showdown.
Holly Willoughby and Stephen Mulhern were the first presenters to appear on the iconic channel when they hosted the magazine show.
Other classic titles included Fun House, Knightmare, Children’s Ward, Raggy Dolls, Woof and Art Attack.
While programs such as Ghost Train, Press Gang, Danger Mouse, Trap Door and Count Duckula also called CITV home.
But it’s not all bad news as the network’s new destination for children’s TV will be called ITVX Kids and will be available on their streaming platform.
Content from the CITV channel was moved to the service before the channel closed after ITVX Kids first launched in July.
5
The network has made stars of the likes of TalkTV’s Danielle Nicholls and Stephen Mulhern Credit: ITV
5
Ant and Dec landed their first presenting job in an original programming block hosting Gimme 5Credit: Newscast
5
The Worst Witch gained millions of loyal fans when it ran on CITV from 1998 to 2001. Credit: ITV
Categories: Optical Illusion
Source: HIS Education