Challenge TV launched on Freeview!

YES!

which even has Family Channel branding on the tape labels...
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/70/171186996_52a48d8b29_z.jpg?zz=1

No way! How'd you come across that?

Also, there's a clip online of a strand called "Family Late" which seemed to outlast The Family Channel itself, can anybody confirm?

It did indeed, I remember that - didn't it used to air from about 1-2am in the morning after Prizetime/Games Room.

What a find with that tape!

Family Late lasted from 1997 - I believe 2000, it was used as the overnight filler from 00.30 - 5am, before the station became 24 hours:

Family catchphrase still pops up on challenge sometime in the wonderful 5am slot.

This was on after Challenge TV finished at 00:30. I know they showed Hart to Hart, I'm not sure what else they showed. They had their own branding but no CA as far as I remember. They had their own DOG but sometimes the Challenge TV dog would be left on screen.

I can confirm that, as it was me (nwtv2003/steviegTVreturns) who uploaded the Family Late clips. FL was only started after Family Channel rebranded to Challenge in 1997, it was a strand that broadcast between 12.30 and 5.00am which intially showed Family Channel content, probably for contractual reasons more than anything. By September 1998 the family shows were abandoned in favour of Challenge TV content, albeit under the FL branding. I don't recall when FL ended, but I think it was sometime in 2000. For some reason the night time content of Challenge/Family Late wasn't broadcast on Sky Digital for a while, Challenge was a 6-12am service on Digital, yet on Analogue it was 5pm-6am, although again by about 2000 it became 24 hours on digital.

All from 1998.....

Wasn't Family Late just a way to burn off rights to non-game show programmes that they still had

The Family Late schedule gradually became filled with more and more game shows as the rights expired I recall.

Here comes the BIGGEST Question of the lot;;

WHY did Flextech, Who brought out the reaming 61% of the channel from International Family channel, in 1996;
( that included Maidstone studio, Channel its self)

Why did there not buy the Back catalogue of ENGLISH TVS programmes archive aswell? paperwork would have been the alright back then.

I understand why MTM said with IFE, but really why would there want Catchphrase etc? I will never understand this.

Ahhh, a bit like the Marcopolo Sky Arts service then. Thanks for the info!

I think the BIGGEST question of the lot must be why is every programme in that vidcap above 15 minutes longer than the original broadcast?? How many advert breaks did they used to show in those days?? What is going on??

that because there used to broadcast Prize times between them,phone-in, prizes etc

5pm: Prize time
5.05 Blockbusters
5.18 Prizes times and then break
5.25 Blockbusters part2
5.40 Prizes times and break
5.50 Catchphrase and repeat...