CITV (formerly known as Children's ITV) was a British free-to-air children's television channel owned by ITV plc. It broadcasts content from CITV's archive and acquisitions daily from 6 am to 9 pm. It is also the title of a programming block on the ITV network at weekends. Children's ITV launched on 3 January 1983 as a late afternoon programming block on the ITV network for children aged 6-12. It replaced the earlier Watch It! branding and introduced networked in-vision continuity links between programs. These links were pre-recorded from a small London studio until 1987 when Central won the contract to produce live links from their Birmingham studios. In 2004, the presentation of CITV was relocated to Granada Television in Manchester, which saw the demise of in-vision continuity. Nine years later, the operations moved to ITV Granada's MediaCityUK studios in Salford. In 2006, CITV launched as a digital channel on Freeview. The CITV channel averages around 100,000 viewers daily between 4 pm and 6 pm. The CITV programming block on the ITV network airs on weekend mornings from 6 am to 9:25 am as part of the ITV Breakfast time slot. CITV does not have a +1 and HD simulcast, unlike the rest of ITV's portfolio of channels. On 10 March 2023, it was announced that the CITV channel would be closing down in the autumn, in favor of an upcoming children's hub on ITVX, ITVX Kids, launching in July 2023. It was permanently shut down on 1 September, with all programmes moving to ITVX.
CITV
Original Network
for Original Network in Beast King GoLion (1981)
Suggested by ltathena
GoLion's story is set in the then-future year of 1999, when the planet Altea is subdued and enslaved by the Galra Empire. Meanwhile, five space pilots (Akira Kogane, Takashi Shirogane, Isamu Kurogane, Tsuyoshi Seidou and Hiroshi Suzuichi) return to Earth from their latest space exploration, only to find the planet annihilated by an apocalyptic, thermonuclear war, World War III. Suddenly, the explorers are ambushed, captured and enslaved by the visiting Galra Empire, and then, they are forced to fight for their lives in Emperor Daibazaal's arena. The young pilots escape and eventually land on the planet Altea, where they discover the secret of the mighty sentient robot GoLion, the only weapon powerful enough to defeat Emperor Daibazaal's forces. Thousands of years ago, GoLion was an arrogant robot who, after defeating several Beastmen, tried to challenge the goddess of the universe into battle, but failed. For GoLion's hubris, the goddess taught him humility by separating him into five pieces in the form of five lion robots that sailed through space and crash-landed on Altea, to lay in wait for those who would one day reawaken him to fight evil once again. The Princess of Altea, Fala, joins four of them so they can become the new pilots of GoLion and help her start fighting back against the Empire.
