Carlton Cinema (TV channel)
| Carlton Cinema | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Launched | 15 November 1998[1] |
| Closed | 31 March 2003[2] |
| Owned by |
Carlton Television (Carlton Communications) |
Availability (at time of closure) | |
| Terrestrial | |
| ITV Digital | Channel 28 |
| Cable | |
| NTL | Channel 309 |
| Telewest | Channel 425 |
Carlton Cinema was a British digital film television channel, provided by Carlton Television. It launched in November 1998 on the ITV Digital platform, and closed down in March 2003, being the last ever Carlton-branded television network to do so. Its sister channels were Carlton Select, Carlton World, Carlton Kids, and Carlton Food Network. The channel launched on cable in March 2000 as an evening only replacement for Carlton Select. The first film shown on the channel was the 1953 film Genevieve.
Closure
When the ITV Digital platform ceased broadcasting 30 June 2002, the channel struggled to keep going. It was removed from NTL's digital channel line-up in September 2002, and Carlton was negotiating with BSkyB to get the channel onto Sky, but no deal was agreed. The closure was announced on 9 December 2002. A year later, they broadcast the final film, the 1981 neo-film noir Body Heat at 21:45. Just before 23:45, the last announcement made by continuity announcer Fiona Goldman was:
Well, that was the last film on Carlton Cinema. It's been almost four-and-a-half years since we first went to air and during that time, we've shown over 4,000 films. We hope you've enjoyed watching them as much as we've enjoyed showing them. So, from our director of programmes George McKee, myself Fiona Goldman, and all the team here at Carlton Cinema, it's been a great pleasure and thank you for having been with us. Now, all we have to do is pick up the popcorn and turn off the lights.[2]
Then they aired a montage of scenes and quotes from the movies they showed, with Alice Faye's You'll Never Know played. Near the end of the montage, two announcers said, "Carlton Cinema thanks all our viewers for tuning in over the last 4 years. We hope you enjoyed watching the films as much as we've enjoyed bringing them to you." The final image shown was a movie theater screen curtain (one of the many icons of movie palaces during the Golden Age of Hollywood) closing, revealing (for the final time) the Carlton Cinema logo with the date of launch on the top and the date of closure on the bottom. Then, the channel faded to black.