Many 24 hour channels will have an extended ident or living hold so they can hit a 'start of day' in the schedule at 0600.
Channel 4 has the curious habit of frequently shown the same trailer before and after a holding menu before the 5.30ish showing of Countdown each morning.
Why 6am though? What's wrong with, say, 7am or 5am?
I was under the (presumably now wrong) impression the broadcast day in the UK started at 6am and had been the case since 1983 and TV-AM or BBC Breakfast. Primarily because prior to breakfast TV there was probably sod all TV on air at that time of the morning unless you were into test cards and what not.
:-(
A former member
Thats is pretty much it. IBA siad TVAM could have the 6am - 9.15am and ITV could start at 09.30am. That did play a bit of trouble for certain ITV stations who used to start up on Saturdays at 08.30.
:-(
A former member
Breakfast Time originally aired at 6.30am, TV-am's first broadcast started at 6am, but later when Daybreak was dropped, GMB started at 6.15am.
Breakfast Time originally aired at 6.30am, TV-am's first broadcast started at 6am, but later when Daybreak was dropped, GMB started at 6.15am.
I never understood why BBC One decided to move Breakfast Time in February 1985 to a 6.50am start. Pointless. By 1985 TV AM had started at 6.15am, were the BBC unhappy that TV AM were on earlier and getting more viewers by this time, so they decided to move it to 6.50am?
I never understood why BBC One decided to move Breakfast Time in February 1985 to a 6.50am start. Pointless. By 1985 TV AM had started at 6.15am, were the BBC unhappy that TV AM were on earlier and getting more viewers by this time, so they decided to move it to 6.50am?
The aim was to compete better with TVam in the post-9am slot, hence it now finished at 9.20. And presumably they didn't give them any more money to make the show longer.
These days the broadcast day starting at 0600 still has some practical uses, for example you're much less likely to have have a programme crossing over the hour then than you are at midnight. It also means ad sales and scheduling can release the next day's schedule at the end of office hours and still leave playout plenty of time to preview and spot any issues.
In lots of places like the BBC the broadcast week starts on a Saturday, presumably this is because of the Radio Times?
These days the broadcast day starting at 0600 still has some practical uses, for example you're much less likely to have have a programme crossing over the hour then than you are at midnight
Also to have the printed schedules starting at midnight and the second or third item being closedown looks a bit silly
AS
AlexS
Even on BBC1 the majority of normal viewers would now consider 5:00 the beginning of the broadcast day considering this is when the programming moves from overnight to more breakfast style, and EPGs make no reference to the start and end of a broadcast day.