Trace Vault Explained

Trace Vault
Picture Format: 576i SDTV
Country:United Kingdom
Owner:Trace Group
Replaced:Chart Shop TV
Former Names:Video Vault (2003)
The Vault (2003–2019)
Website:Official website

Trace Vault (formerly Video Vault and The Vault) was a British free-to-air music and entertainment television channel owned by Trace Group.[1]

On 1 November 2019, the channel rebranded as Trace Vault following TRACE's takeover of Sony's music channels.[2] The first song on the new TRACE Vault was "Crank That (Soulja Boy)" by Soulja Boy Tell'em.

History

Chart Show Channels launched Video Vault as a late night (3am to 6am) service within Chart Show TV's downtime on 12 March 2003, replacing Chart Shop TV. It was renamed The Vault on 16 July 2003 and increased hours to 8pm to 6am, moving to Pop's broadcast capacity, and then expanded to 24 hours a day on 17 September 2003. The channel played nostalgic music and classic pop from the 1960s onwards, occasionally featuring music videos and concert footage from as early as at least the 1950s.

The Vault logo was on screen in the top left-hand corner during music videos and the song information faded in and out, at the bottom of the screen, at the start and near the end of each music video.

The Vault rebranded with a new logo and graphics presentation on 29 April 2010 along with newly themed content and a much more diverse mix of classic pop, classic dance, classic rock, classic RnB, love songs and chill out music throughout the previous 25 years. By 2011, the channel focused on old and new pop music. A further rebrand took place in 2014. Another rebrand happened in 2016 with some entertainment shows from the 90s being added gradually.[3]

The channel was launched on Freeview in November 2017, replacing Chart Show TV, but was removed on 7 November 2018 and its slot being replaced by its former sister channel True Movies +1. The channel was also available on Freesat channel 501 since the platform's launch until its removal on 21 October 2019, when it was replaced by Christmas Starz.

The last song to be played before the rebrand was "Cry Me a River" by Justin Timberlake but, as happened on the network's sister channels, the song was cut part way through.

The channel closed on 14 December 2023.[4] The last song to be played before its closure was We're All in This Together from High School Musical. Similar to other Sony/Trace networks, the channel froze on the video halfway through, briefly showcasing a technical fault slide.

Programming

Music programming

Entertainment shows

Notes and References

  1. Web site: TRACE Magazine. 13 March 2009.
  2. Web site: Trace launches three new channels in the UK. October 18, 2019. Digital TV Europe.
  3. Web site: Can we talk about how awesome The Vault is?!. www.honcho-sfx.com.
  4. News: Trace Music leaves Sky > RXTV info . 8 December 2023 . RXTV info . 8 December 2023.
  5. http://www.parkproductions.co.uk/zeoranger/web/news2022.htm Zeoranger UK