chyron

[ kahy-ron ]

noun

1. a text-based graphic overlay displayed at the bottom of a television screen or film frame, as closed captioning or the crawl of a newscast.

verb (used with object)

1. to display (information) in overlaid text at the bottom of a screen:

   The network prematurely chyroned what they believed to be final election results and had to issue a correction shortly thereafter.

Word History and Origins

Origin of chyron¹

First recorded in 1975–80; after Chyron Corporation, the manufacturer of a broadcast graphics generator

Example Sentences

The chyron at bottom read, “Is Biden’s age now a bigger problem than Trump’s indictments?”

From Los Angeles Times

Fox carried them in full, with the chyron, “Trump: Supreme Court Case Was a Beautiful Process.”

From New York Times

Car Chase — that’s the direct, if unimaginative, name for Pluto TV’s new channel — airs each pursuit from the first breaking news chyron to its inevitable end.

From Los Angeles Times

Google also played with the date Thursday with a mini chyron that reads, “Table for ✌️?,” when users search “Zack and Cody” or “Suite Life on Deck.”

From Los Angeles Times

For Kelly going after Michelle Obama might as well be a hobby, dating back to at least 2008 when she defended a Fox News chyron referring to the soon-to-be First Lady as Obama's Baby Mama.

From Salon

More About Chyron

What is a chyron?

A chyron is a text-based graphic that overlays video content, such as television shows and movies.

Chyron is the general name for any graphic that is superimposed over a video or live broadcast. While a chyron is usually placed at the bottom of a frame, it can appear anywhere within the frame.

Closed-captioning is a common use of chyrons and generally appears at the bottom of the video frame. Chyrons placed here might also include important information for the video, such as the time and location of the scene. Newscasts often use chyrons for news headlines, sports scores, stock market information, weather reports, and other related information.

Example: For the weather report frame, Nick created a custom chyron that can support images of rain clouds.

Where does chyron come from?

The first records of the term chyron come from around 1976. It comes from the name of a company, the Chyron Corporation, which pioneered the use of chyrons in television broadcasts.

The chyron is named after the mythological Greek centaur named Chiron, who was a wise centaur. The company wanted to connect the idea of wisdom with technology. It was so successful that it changed the company name from Systems Resource Corporation to Chyron Corporation.

While the Chyron Corporation created the chyron, the name chyron has now become the general name for graphics superimposed on video.

Did you know … ?

What are some words that often get used in discussing chyron?

• broadcast
• graphics
• stocks
• weather

What are some words chyron may be commonly confused with?

• Chiron

How is chyron used in real life?

While the Chyron Corporation is still active in television graphics and development, the term chyron is most often used generally to refer to the graphic overlay.

I watched a movie that had a chyron “1990” and the cars looked old and the clothes looked weird and I was like “c’mon it’s just 1990” but then I realized that’s 30 years ago and it would be like if I’d watched a movie in 1990 that was set in 1960 and I’m gonna throw up now.

— Dan Fogelman (@Dan_Fogelman) January 31, 2021

The “Not Gerard Butler” chyron still has me dying. DYING

— Katie Morton (@hellokatiemo) September 4, 2019

No more starting a movie with some weird scene and then cutting to something else and chyron'ing "one year earlier"

— Mindy Kaling (@mindykaling) July 24, 2016

 

Try using chyron!

Is chyron used correctly in the following sentence?

Be sure to proof the chyron before it goes on the air so we avoid embarrassing mistakes.