 | |
| Country | United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Nationwide |
| Programming | |
| Language(s) | English |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | ITV plc |
| History | |
| Launched | 19 April 2006 |
| Closed | 5 March 2007 (Suspension) 13 March 2007 (Official Closure) 16 March 2007 (Removal) |
| Replaced by | ITV2 +1 (on Freeview) |
| Links | |
| Website | ITV Play at the Wayback Machine (archived 16 October 2006) |
| Availability (at time of closure) | |
| Terrestrial | |
| Freeview | Channel 31 |
ITV Play was a short-lived 24/7 participation television channel in the United Kingdom owned by ITV plc. It aired as an interactive gaming channel, what its sister channel was planned to air before it was changed. The ITV Play name continued as a strand on ITV1 during the overnight hours until December 2007.
It was launched as a standalone channel on Freeview (taking on the slot which was previously occupied by the Men & Motors channel) on 19 April 2006 and started broadcasting on the Sky platform on 24 July 2006.
The ITV Play channel was created in response to and hoping to cash in on the popularity of late night quiz shows on ITV1 and ITV2 such as Quizmania and The Mint that had first launched in December 2005. ITV Play also offered additional gambling services on their website.
It cost at least 75p per call to participate. This charge was made even if the caller was not put through to the studio. A free entry route was available through the website. Users were restricted to 150 calls/web entries in a 24-hour period. At peak times callers had a 1 in 8500 chance of getting through to the studio to play.[1]
- ^ Sweney, Mark (28 November 2006). "Sky calls for regulation of quiz channels". Media Guardian. Retrieved 8 April 2007.