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Sign-on and sign-off

A sign-on (or start-up in Commonwealth countries except Canada) is the beginning of operations for a radio or television station, generally at the start of each day. It is the opposite of a sign-off (or closedown in Commonwealth countries except Canada), which is the sequence of operations involved when a radio or television station shuts down its transmitters and goes off the air for a predetermined period; generally, this occurs during the overnight hours although a broadcaster's digital specialty or sub-channels may sign-on and sign-off at significantly different times than its main channels.

"Sign-off" redirects here. For the term as used in letterwriting, see Valediction.

Like other television programming, sign-on and sign-off sequences can be initiated by a broadcast automation system, and automatic transmission systems can turn the carrier signal and transmitter on/off by remote control.[a]


Sign-on and sign-off sequences have become less common due to the increasing prevalence of 24/7 broadcasting. However, some national broadcasters continue the practice; particularly those in countries with limited broadcast coverage. Stations may also sometimes close for transmitter maintenance, or to allow another station to broadcast on the same channel space.[1]

For television or radio stations that cut off their signal during off-broadcast hours, a or a static image accompanied by a 400 Hz tone, a 1 kHz tone (or other single-sine-wave tones) or music may be broadcast fifteen to twenty minutes before the actual sign-on. Digital channels may still run overnight programs or interstitials at this time (ITV Nightscreen in the United Kingdom being an example), which conclude when the station's main programming schedule begins.

test pattern

A signal to turn on remote may be played—this is usually a series of touch tones.

transmitters

On radio stations, especially international stations on , an interval signal may be played in a loop, usually for 3 to 5 minutes before the actual broadcast starts.

shortwave

Technical information is provided. This can include (call sign and city of license), transmitter power, frequency or channel number, translators used, transmitter locations, list of broadcast engineers, and/or studio/transmitter links (STL).

station identification

A television station may show a video and photo set to the national anthem or other patriotic piece of music. The accompanying television video may include images of the national flag, the head of state, national heroes, national military soldiers, national symbols, and other nationalistic imagery (especially on state-owned broadcasters), or simply the station ident. In the case of television stations broadcasting to audiences in more than one country, the flags and national symbols of each country in turn may be shown, with its respective national anthem being played.

montage

Ownership information about the station, and a list of related organizations.

A video of people singing an opening song, or opening dance performance to start the day.

A greeting to viewers or listeners.

Contact information, such as street and mailing addresses, telephone number, email, and website details.

A or other religious acknowledgement, particularly in countries with a state religion, in theocracies, and on religious broadcasters.

prayer

A for the upcoming programs, or the day's programs.

schedule

A that station programming is taped, aired live, or originates from a television or radio network.

disclaimer

Another disclaimer that programs are for personal use only (sometimes with information on restrictions), and a statement that businesses cannot profit from showing them by applying a cover charge for viewing.

copyright

A statement of commitment to quality; this may be in the form of a recognized standard, such as the ' Broadcast Code of the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas (Association of Broadcasters of the Philippines).

Philippines

A , including some or all of the television channel, AM or FM frequency, call sign, branding, and a clock ident.

station identification

Generally a station or slogan will be played, accompanied on television with video clips featuring station programming or personalities. The Start-Up/Sign-On Notice is announced after the national anthem.

jingle

An announcement informing viewers that the station is about to go off-air: it may also include a message of thanks for the viewer's patronage, along with an announcement of the time when the station is scheduled to sign on again.

A station or slogan may be played, accompanied on television with video clips featuring station programming or personalities,[2] or perhaps stock scenes from the station's main city/cities. A series of program trailers may also be played.

jingle

A , hymn, or other religious acknowledgement, particularly in countries with a state religion or theocracies, and on religious broadcasters. Other channels may opt for a pre-taped sermonette or something similar. See section below.

prayer

A short weather forecast and :[3] some channels in the United Kingdom also used to include a public information film.

newscast

A , which can be silent, play music or feature an announcer.

clock ident

A for the following day's programs.[4]

program guide

acknowledging announcers, technicians and other crew who operated the day's broadcast.[5]

Closing credits

Ownership information about the station and their parent company, as well as their contact information.

[3]

A video of people singing a closing song, or closing dance performance to end the day's broadcast.

A disclaimer that programs are for personal use only (sometimes with information on restrictions), and a statement that businesses cannot profit from showing them by applying a cover charge for viewing.

copyright

The viewer may be encouraged to view or listen to alternative services during the station's downtime; these are usually sister or affiliate stations.

A statement of commitment to quality, usually in the form of a recognized standard: in the Philippines, it is usually the Broadcast Code of the (Association of Broadcasters of the Philippines), while in the United States, it was (until 1983) the Television Code of the National Association of Broadcasters. Same as the start-up, the closedown/sign-off notice is shown before the National Anthem.

Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas

A television station may show a video and photo set to the national anthem or other patriotic piece of music. The accompanying television video may include images of the national flag, the head of state, national heroes, national military soldiers, national symbols, and other nationalistic imagery (especially on state-owned broadcasters,[6] but sometimes on privately-owned ones too), or simply the station ident.[3] In the case of television stations broadcasting to audiences in more than one country, the flags and national symbols of each country in turn may be shown, with its respective national anthem being played.

montage

The station may display some type of novelty item, such as an animated character, particular to that station or its locale.

Stations in the would use a slide with the station logo and the word Sendeschluss (in Germany and Austria also alternatively spelt Sendeschluß with an eszett, meaning "shutdown"), shown prior to the test card (as opposed to before the signal being cut) to tell the viewer to switch off their sets. This practice ceased around 1994–96.[7]

German-speaking parts of Europe (DACH)

Viewers may be reminded to turn off their television sets just prior to the transmitter being switched off. This was historically practised in the United Kingdom and in many parts of the , and is still in regular practice in some places like Russia and some areas of Japan. Sometimes, a loud tone may be played on the audio to encourage sleeping viewers to turn their television sets off, in order to prevent electricity wastage and to mitigate the risk of fire and/or explosions occurring in older TV sets.

Eastern Bloc

On channels intended for young children, a short video may be shown of the channel's characters or hosts going to bed, before showing a loop of them sleeping throughout the night until programming resumes the following morning.[9]

[8]

Finally, stations may show a ,[3] station logo, a loop of the station ident, a black screen, or a static schedule (telling viewers of the programming line-up once broadcasting resumes), usually with a monotone sound or a relay of a radio station: some stations may show a sequence of teletext pages, while others may use a promotional video or a series of infomercials. Other stations may simply cut off the signal, usually by sending a series of touch tones to turn off remote transmitters, which resulted in static on an analog television signal. Others may switch into a 24-hour channel or show archived programming.[b]

test card

Special sign-on/off cases[edit]

Historical[edit]

In a number of countries closedowns formerly took place during the daytime as well as overnight. In the United Kingdom this was initially due to government-imposed restrictions on daytime broadcasting hours, and later, due to budgetary constraints. The eventual relaxation of these rules meant that afternoon closedowns ceased permanently on the ITV network in October 1972, but the BBC maintained the practice until Friday 24 October 1986, before commencing a full daytime service on the following Monday. Afternoon closedowns continued in South Korea until December 2005. Hong Kong's broadcasting networks (particularly the English-speaking channels) also practiced this until mid-2008. In these cases, the station's transmitters later did not actually shut-down for the afternoon break; either a test-card was played or a static schedule was posted telling viewers of the programming line-up once broadcasting resumes.


In Indonesia, restrictions on broadcast hours were also implemented in July 2005 as part of an energy saving campaign.[45] Three years later, it were implemented again due to the electricity crisis.[46]

Ceefax

Dark (broadcasting)

Digital television transition in the United States

Goodnight Kiwi

Indian-head test pattern

ITV Nightscreen

Short-term Analog Flash and Emergency Readiness Act

Star Gazers

Television closedown routines in the United Kingdom

Test Card F

TVARK

Turner Doomsday Video

- J. Alan Wall's website devoted to sign-offs and sign-ons of United States television stations

TV-Signoffs.com

TV-Ark