ITV to switch off its channels for an hour

ITV will switch off all of its channels for an hour during the next August Bank Holiday weekend in association with the National Lottery’s “I am Team GB” event.

On Saturday 27th August, ITV’s channels will stop showing programmes between 9:30am and 10:30am to support the event being run in conjunction with the British Olympic Association and UK Sport.

According to Campaign Live, the move is supposed to inspire viewers normally sat watching reruns of Murder She Wrote or Jeremy Kyle to take part in the “UK’s biggest ever sports day”.

ITV AdVentures, its advertising innovation arm, ITV Creative, its in-house creative team, and ITN Productions will produce material for the event, including stories of what National Lottery players have made possible. Promos will start airing from 20th June.

It is not known whether STV will join in with the shutdown for viewers in Central and Northern Scotland. The last weekend in August is not a bank holiday weekend north of the border.