I wish ITV would watch some of the early C5 continuity and realise you can have that friendly laid-back tone whilst also sounding professional and not having an ear-achingly arrogant voice.
I will be discussing the following idents up to present date in more videos as part of a series basically as a tribute and to tie in with the birthday itself
Gosh, Teletext bitter they didn't get the C5 contract.
Indeed !
Didn't they end up with it a few years later though ?
The license wasn't awarded until July 1997 so they didn't know they hadn't got it yet, though the applications were in and they had bid less than Sky/Ch5. I think 'Sam Brady' was always like that (he wasn't one person I seem to remember).
They did take over the license when Sky wanted out a few years later.
Channel 5 launched with its own teletext magazine, appropriately enough in the 500 range as 5 Text IIRC but the "full" teletext service from Teletext or Sky or whoever followed later.
Always remember looking at 5 Text in its early days as it only had about 12 pages in total including a letters page to which most responses were "we have no plans" to when people asked if they were going to show something.
Yes it was just the 'ancillary' service on 500 at first with a page on 100 pointing viewers to it, until the main one started. Unlike the equivalents on ITV and Channel 4, the two services on channel 5 were integrated so as far as the viewers were concerned it was all one teletext service.
It ended because Sky ended their own text service. Teletext took over the main but I can't remember if 5's ancillary service continued
I was up in Stockton-on-Tees for a wedding on the day of the launch, but managed to nip back to the hotel bedroom to see it. I wasn't particularly impressed.
Once back home in Plymouth, I could only get it via my newly installed Sky analogue kit. I think it was quite a few years before it was available on analogue terrestrial here, unless you fiddled with your aerial and went for Caradon Hill rather than the Plympton transmitter.
Agree the original identity was brilliant and the best thing about the channel. I still think it's such a shame they ditched the "candy stripe" branding.
Agree the original identity was brilliant and the best thing about the channel. I still think it's such a shame they ditched the "candy stripe" branding.
The candy stripe would've aged. The idents are still great though.
Regarding Five News, I think they lost something when they moved away from the initial look. It had a real USP whereas since then I don't think neither they nor the viewers really know what hole it is actually filling. The other terrestrials have well defined agendas and formats.