chyron

American  

[kahy-ron] / ˈkaɪ rɒn /

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.

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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.

Usage

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.

Etymology

Origin of chyron

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

Explanation

A chyron is a banner with text that is displayed at the bottom of a television screen. Think of boxes with subtitles, or a box showing the name of a person being interviewed. Originally, Chyron was the name of a company that made graphics for television shows. The company came up with the most popular system for displaying things like closed captions and titles onscreen. They became so popular, in fact, that the types of graphics they specialized in started being called by their name, even in cases where some other company had added them. They're sometimes also called lower third text because they appear somewhere on the bottom third of the screen.

Example Sentences

That should have been the frame from the first headline to the last chyron.

From Salon • Jan. 5, 2026

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 • Nov. 16, 2023

“Fox 5 footage featuring protesters and a chyron reading ‘State of Emergency Declared in Georgia’ also appeared at the 1:21 mark in the original video.

From Washington Times • Jul. 26, 2023

A Fox News chyron reads: “State of emergency declared in Georgia.”

From Seattle Times • Jul. 19, 2023

Sure, it’s maximalist, certainly it’s incoherent, but it makes for a hell of a Fox News chyron.

From Slate • Jun. 20, 2023