Unwind with ITV

Unwind with ITV
Title card on ITV1.
Also known asUnwind with STV (on STV)
Unwind with ITV1
Unwind with ITV2
Unwind with ITV3
Unwind with ITV4
Unwind with ITVBe (until 8 June 2025)
Unwind with ITV Quiz (since 10 June 2025)
Genre
  • Ambient television
  • Television filler
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
Production
Camera setupSingle-camera
Running time5–90 minutes
Production companyRock Oyster Media
Original release
NetworkITV1, ITV2, ITV3, ITV4, ITVBe (until 2025), ITV Quiz (since 2025)
Release2 October 2021 (2021-10-02) –
present
Related

Unwind with ITV is an ITV ambient television programme. It broadcasts footage of various peaceful environments and computer graphics, over ambient music. It is produced by Plymouth-based Rock Oyster Media in collaboration with mental health charity Campaign Against Living Miserably, with music coming from the libraries of the music conglomerate BMG.[1][2] It started broadcasting on 2 October 2021.[3]

The show is also available for late-night viewing on ITV channels 1–4 and ITV Quiz (formerly ITVBe). Select episodes previously broadcast on ITV1 are available on ITVX under the title Unwind with ITV1. Indeed, unlike ITV Nightscreen, which presented the TV listings for ITV1 alone across the ITV network, distinct editions of Unwind with ITV air on the same night from channel to channel and are labeled accordingly on ITVX's TV listings.

In November 2022, a round-the-clock feed of Unwind footage was made available as part of the line-up of FAST channels offered within the 'Live TV' section of ITVX,[4] although this has since closed. Also in November 2022, Unwind was discontinued on STV, with it being replaced by Night Vision, which features news, sport and weather from across Scotland. However, in July 2023, Unwind returned to STV following the collapse of Ideal World and shown alongside Night Vision. Unwind with ITVBe was discontinued in light of ITVBe's closure and replacement by ITV Quiz on 9th June 2025, with Unwind with ITV now broadcasting on the new channel.

Origins

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Unwind with ITV replaced an earlier programme called ITV Nightscreen, which was an overnight filler programme of promotional information about upcoming ITV shows that ran over the late hours of ITV's night-time service. The programme was used to fill the station's overnight downtime, where a closedown would have once been used at the end of programmes. However, under ITV's public service broadcasting requirements, the channel is required to operate a 24-hour-a-day service. ITV classified ITV Nightscreen as a regional programme. In 2017, the programme was said to account for more than a third of ITV's regional programming hours. Ofcom considered this an inappropriate means of fulfilling regional quotas and took action to remove the loophole.[5]

Content

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Each episode consists of either ambient aerial, landscape or natural scenery (done by either drone or static cameras) or geometric, morphing digital graphics. These visuals are accompanied by soft, ambient music.

Broadcasts

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Though broadcasts of Unwind with ITV are subject to change to accommodate other programs, Unwind with ITV1 typically airs overnight between reruns of ITV programming. The remaining four channels air their editions of Unwind with ITV prior to their scheduled teleshopping hours in the early morning. Editions of Unwind with ITV on these channels range from a minimum of 5 minutes to in excess of 30 minutes.

As the death of Prince Philip affected ITV Nightscreen, so was Unwind with ITV affected by the death of Queen Elizabeth II. In the days following her death, commemorative documentaries aired in place of Unwind with ITV.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Staff Reporter (11 October 2021). "Unwind with ITV: ITV announces new nightly mindfulness programme". TellyMix. Retrieved 27 November 2021.
  2. ^ "Overnight "calming and reflective" strand Unwind with ITV". Media Mole. Archived from the original on 11 October 2022. Retrieved 19 June 2025.
  3. ^ "ITV NIGHTSCREEN TO END AFTER 23 YEARS". Tvzoneuk.com. 26 September 2021. Retrieved 28 April 2022.
  4. ^ "ITVX arrives with 18 streaming channels", RXTVinfo, 2022-11-17
  5. ^ "ITV Nightscreen bows out after more than 23-and-a-half years". Clean Feed. 1 October 2021. Retrieved 27 November 2021.
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